UN Is Working Hard To Provide Support

Ian Martin

The agreement on the Interim Constitution is another major landmark in this Nepalese peace process.

In the meantime, the United Nations is working hard to provide the support that the parties have requested for the process. There are three areas of our work I would like to update you: the completion of the work of the Technical Assessment Mission, the preparation for the arrival of 35 monitors of arms and armies as well as other progress towards the monitoring work and assistance to the Election Commission.

The Security Council presidential statement of 1 December gave us two immediate mandates: it has mandated the advance deployment of up to 35 monitors of arms and armies as well as 25 electoral advisors, and it provided for the full mission to deliver the assistance requested by the parties.

The assessment mission has completed its work, and I will be sending its report to the United Nations Headquarters for the decision of the secretary general. The report of the assessment mission will include detailed proposal for the personnel, the logistical support and resources required by the mission in order to support the peace process in the ways requested by the parties: that is, to monitor arms and armies, to provide electoral assistance and monitoring, and to monitor human rights and other ceasefire arrangements.

The next step is for the secretary general to consider this report, and then to present his own report to the Security Council proposing the new mission. The Security Council has already indicated in its statement of 1 December that it is ready to consider the establishment of a political mission in Nepal to support the peace process as requested. When the Security Council makes its decision and formally mandates the new mission, the way will be open to obtain a full budget.

In the meantime, there are significant developments in our wok in Nepal . The 35 members of arms and armies will begin arranging in Nepal very soon. The monitors will arrive in two groups, with the first group due to arrive in about ten days, before the end of the year. The remainder will arrive by mid-January. When he first group arrives the monitors will commence work immediately. There will be a brief training program and then they will begin visits to the PLA cantonment sites and Nepal Army barracks and installations.

The joint monitoring coordination committee (JMCC), made up of representatives of the Nepal Army, the PLA and my own team led by General Jan Erik Wilhelmsen who chairs the JMCC, held its first meeting. The tasks immediately ahead include further visits to the sites where weapons will be stored to determine the locations where the weapons containers which have now arrived will be located and where the monitoring personnel will be stationed, as well as visits to the PLA proposed satellite sites. The agreement on Modalities requires the PLA site commanders to provide complete lists of their personnel and weapons, and a UN expert in registration procedures is arriving to help us determine with the parties, the process and methods of registration of weapons and personnel.

We are also continuing to discuss with the parties the idea of a Gurkha Interim Task Force composed of Nepalese ex-servicemen from the British and India armies as a possible way to provide a 24 hour presence at the weapons storage sites. While the United Nations could not take responsibility for recruiting such a Taskforce, but we will continue to explore how the JMCC could coordinate the respective roles of the UN monitors and the members of such a taskforce.

I am very concerned about reports of the problems being experienced by Maoist cadres at the cantonment sides, including health problems associated with poor living conditions. The establishment and management of the cantonment sites is not a responsibility the United Nations has ever been asked to undertake. However, relevant United Nations agencies remain ready to respond to Government requests for assistance, when it is agreed with the CPN (Maoist) how to provide such assistance.

The Chief Election Commissioner convened a meeting last week with the international community to present the needs of the Election Commission for expert advice, coordination of projects and support, and direct funding. My office has had advisors assisting the Commission in the past few weeks with the drafting of the necessary legal framework for the Constituent Assembly elections, as well as with preparation of a detailed logistics plan for the elections. Beyond the three electoral advisor who have already been assisting the Commission, we are identifying members of the advance team of 25 electoral advisors  to begin arriving in coming weeks, They will be deployed both at the national office of the Election Commission and the regions, in accordance with the request of the Commission.

And I take this opportunity to assure the parties and the people of Nepal , that the United Nations is working hard to provide the assistance requested of us.

(Excerpts of a statement by Martin, Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary General. The statement was delivered on December 17 at a press meet)