What to expect ?

The tenth round of Nepal-Bhutan bilateral talks on the long-drawn out refugee problem will, according to the Foreign Minister, be held in the third week of December. This is the second time within a year that Nepali leaders are meeting Druk representatives to resolve the decade-old refugee problem. It is, however, too early to predict whether the forthcoming round will bring substantial result on the refugee verification process. The prospects at this stage seem to be bleak. The Bhutanese proposal of refugee "categorization", which Nepal had unwisely agreed to, has proved to be a stumbling block. At this pace, the actual repatriation of refugees seems to be ages away. Although Bhutan itself had initially proposed the verification of refugees before their return home, this has little to do with the delaying and time buying tactics adopted by the Druk regime. The hope in Thimpu must be that with the passage of time the refugees will be assimilated with the local population and they will not be bothered with the problem any more.

The Druk regime is seeking to deliberately overlook the refugee problem, in effect telling everyone that the people in refugee camps in east Nepal are not Bhutanese at all but "illegal immigrants". But facts speak a different language and that is why the Druk regime has been fighting shy of agreeing to the Nepalese proposal for verification of refugees. Perhaps, if the government had taken more radical measures to pressurize Thimpu to see reason, the Foreign Minister, who made the Druk letter on the forthcoming bilateral talks public the other day, would not have been as "pessimistic" on the possible outcome of the tenth meeting. This, in other words, indicates that there has to be a rethink, if not a backtracking from the process in which both the Nepalese people and the government have lost their confidence. In a nutshell, this means that whatever the outcome of the tenth round, the process of verification leading to repatriation will continue to be bleak. The fact that years of bilateral dialogue have not yielded any result is due in no small measure to India’s reluctance to own up its responsibility in the whole affair as the refugees entered Nepal through India and hence India is more than responsible to see to it that the problem is resolved. India’s refusal to play its part and its policy of letting the matter drag on has landed Nepal in a fix. Things can only grow worse with the UNHCR now saying that its contributions to the upkeep of the refugees will decline next year. Nepal will either have to forcibly evict refugees or find other ways to feed them.

The present obstacle is the verification process. Nepal, backed by international agencies, has opted for verification based on each family while Bhutan continues to insist on verification on individual basis. The twain might never meet if there is no flexibility on the part of Bhutan. Nepal made a major concession by agreeing to verification in the first place, something that was unwise and not really helpful to the cause. Reports of refugees assimilating in our society, deserting camps and the subsequent reduction of international assistance stand as sad reminders of our sorry plight for which we have none but our government to thank. The reason why the government has failed to repatriate refugees is becoming clearer with each passing day.

While talks must be held, we really cannot be very optimistic about its outcome. First, the involvement of India which has the all embracing treaty of 1949 with Bhutan is necessary. Second, the almost feudalistic regime in Thimpu must keep abreast of times and should learn to tolerate democratic exercises including calls for greater freedom and human rights. It must not be forgotten that the Bhutanese were driven out of the Dragon kingdom only when demands for democracy began to grow. Under the circumstances, it will be futile to expect anything from the 10th round of Nepal-Bhutan talks.

UN millennium summit : A futile euphoria

By Dr Shreedhar Gautam

World leaders assembled at the recently concluded Millennium Summit of the United Nations made various declarations dealing with peace and security, eradicating poverty, fighting diseases and protecting the earth. The leaders reaffirmed their faith in the UN and its Charter as indispensable foundations for a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. Participating leaders showed their concern at the unevenly shared benefits of globalization. The declaration also mentions the need for measures at the global level that correspond with the needs of developing countries.

The leaders have also identified certain fundamental values essential to international relations in the 21st century -- freedom equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and concept of shared responsibility. Of the objectives listed in the resolution, poverty eradication, human rights, democracy and good governance are given special significance. Other features of the summit include emphasis on meeting the "special needs of Africa", striving for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, determination to halt and reverse the scourge of AIDS, promoting gender equality, empowering women and combating hunger and disease.

After having gone through the pledges made by world leaders, one may naturally conclude that the Summit will give a major psychological boost to the world body which was established with a view to averting the recurrence of world war and solving other problems in different parts of the world. But we should not overlook the fact that these leaders assembled in New York mainly because Mr Kofi Annan wanted a gathering of this kind. The declaration contains many lofty ideas, but it has little by way of substance. After a careful reading of the resolution of the summit, one cannot escape the conclusion that it has missed a historic opportunity to draw the world leaders’ attention to the vast erosion in the UN’s role and functions in the last 20 years and make suggestions for reversing the process to help it meet the challenges of the new millennium. The declaration makes no analysis of how the UN has been systematically bypassed on issues of real concern to the international community. The resolution not only ignores some of the gravest problems of the world, but also gives an indication of the drastically reduced role of the UN.

The summit conclusion makes no reference to the marginalization of the UN’s peace making and peace keeping role and to the transfer of its functions in the economic field to the IMF, the World Bank and WTO. Though the declaration takes pride in the changed context of a globalized world, it wilfully hides the fact that the UN has been reduced to a pale shadow of what it was meant to be according to the Charter. The pride of living in a globalized world is a hollow claim if the UN is not restored to its Charter functions. The resolution shows no seriousness on the part of leaders towards establishing a world order based on rules and regulations and rights and obligations rather than on discretion, concession and unilateralism. Though the visionaries who architectured the international system after the second world war wanted to establish a world order based on equality, the process has completely halted after the 1980s with America’s arrogant foreign policies under the leadership of Ronald Reagan.

The Secretary General’s suggestion that the UN, instead of acting on its own in all cases, should be a catalyst for action for those who have the resources, betrays the spirit of the Charter which enjoins the UN to act on its own in furtherance of its objectives. But the summit failed to define the thrust areas in which the UN must act on its own and to call upon member states to provide resources for activities. Similarly, the summit failed to make an assessment of the adverse consequences of globalization such as accentuation of inequalities, growing marginalization of the poorest and disadvantaged. It also overlooked the harmful aspects of the emerging international financial structure which stresses the status quo by giving much greater discretion to major economic powers and a much enhanced role for IMF for the surveillance of developing countries.

Another disturbing feature of the summit was the focus on the self help measures to be adopted by developing countries without working out the resources to be mobilized for meeting the suggested goals. Likewise, the desperate appeals made to extra budgetary sources for financing UN sponsored projects is also an indication of the UN’s vulnerability. The millennium summit also discussed the US president’s address to the world body. Bill Clinton underscored the need for principled compromise and for giving up old grudges in order to get on with life. Giving his prescription, Clinton said, "We must look for more solutions in which all sides can claim a measure of victory and move away from choices in which someone is required to accept complete defeat". However, his remarks should not be taken as a mark of absolute fairness and justice ingrained in his heart, because the same Clinton in the very same speech made a separate advocacy asking world leaders to enforce the security council’s resolutions regarding Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. It is matter of great shame for the world community that the entire population of Iraq should be humiliated in the name of UN resolutions, which were masterminded by the US in a mood of Pax-Americana. World leaders, save American and British, have realized that sanctions against Iraq have hurt the hapless people more than their leader, but they have failed to bring any positive change in American leadership, which seems bent upon humiliating the Iraqi people for their defiance and refusal to toe the American line.

The Security Council’s resolutions are just pretexts to hide the hidden agenda of American imperialism. British and American war planes are bombing Iraqi cities in the name of patrolling the so called no fly zone on a regular basis without any specific authorization from the world body. There can be no more gross violation of the UN Charter than turning the UN into a playground for American leaders to fulfil their hegemonistic design. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan could not make any direct reference to the plight of Iraqi people because of implied American threat and pressure. Like his predecessor, B B Ghali, he is helpless and very often knows about UN plans and goals not form the UN bulletin, but from the communique of US State Department. An equally ironical aspect of the Summit is that the US president, who called for reforms of UN’s system of rather poor financial resources, has not come out clean on the US’s own financial contributions to the UN. On the whole, Clinton’s speech characterized not a pious platitude but a deep diplomatic nuances guided by American narrow interest.

Having said all this, we must also take notice of some of the positive outcomes of the UN Summit. These include the Secretary General’s recommendation to industrialized countries "to consider granting duty free and quota free access for essentially all exports from the least developed countries". However, such measures and concessions are not going to make the world body really relevant until its basic structure is not changed. It is not the view of cynics, but a clear reality that UN is misused and subverted tremendously, especially after the Reagan era in America.

Now with the help of Britain, which follows America in the manner of a dog’s tail, America is destroying the very fabric of the UN. Its helplessness in averting American led NATO’s aggression on Yugoslavia is a case in point. It is for this reason that America has started to use the term "international community" instead of UNO knowing fully well that the latter term has lost its earlier prestige and carries no respect and dignity. In such a context, if the Millennial Summit concludes without making any adverse comment on US policies, that is simply a meaningless exercise. Some may take consolation from the fact that so many leaders attended the summit, which could give a new life to the world body. But this is poor consolation because the very spirit of the UN has already been killed, and irreparably damaged. Immense courage and vision is needed on the part of world leaders to revive it and make it an effective organization. The first step in this regard is to restructure the Security Council with a view to empowering developing countries, which, in the course of time, could reduce American influence in domestic matters of member countries.

It is a great setback to the UN’s role that today countries look to the US rather than to the UN for solving bilateral and multilateral problems and disputes. America has utilized this void in the UN in its favour, virtually acting as the only arbitrator of global affairs. So, instead of gleefully hailing the just concluded UN Summit, rational people all over the world should think over the immediate measures to give it back real life. If, the UN’s structure is not changed and American hegemony is not checkmated in the coming years, the world will be less safe and more vulnerable. In other words, we will have to live at the mercy of America and many countries will have to suffer the fate of Iraq, Yugoslavia, Cuba and North Korea, victimized simply for defying American arrogance.

Cheer up Nepalis

By Prakash Atreya

Einstein is not one of you but you surely belong to Lord Buddha’s genus. That is why you still have the same instinct inside you that Lord Buddha had in him. "Help the needy ones" is one of his chief teachings, which all Nepalese know, understand and apply in their daily lives. Most of you usually do this without being aware of the greatness of the task that you are doing. Even I was not aware of this great quality of Nepalese until a few days back when I witnessed a common incident.

Strolling along the footpaths of New Road for fresh evening air, I saw a group of people gathering on the other side of the street. Curiosity rose inside me and the next moment I was one of the members of the crowd. I inquired what the fuss was about and soon discovered that an elderly man of around fifties just had had a mild heart attack. The man was lying on the street unable to move. Just then a group of youngsters emerged from the crowd and without further delay, carried him towards the Bir Hospital. The crowd dispersed and soon I was on my way home.

The incident made me ponder about the nature of the Nepalese and I began to scrutinize souls hoping to unveil their true worth. I discovered that the desire to help is always there. Irrespective of place and time, you come forward from a crowd and show yourself as a local hero by doing such deeds. The humbleness and the politeness with which you treat people is highly appreciable. You show respect to everyone disregarding race or ethnicity. You have this innate instinct to help others in your blood and I believe you are simply
great.

Some of the unlucky ones feel depressed for being Nepali. Even I used to think why I was not born in other developed countries especially USA. But now I have come to realise that the morality we learn here cannot be learned by staying in any other part of the world. Although western societies are much more advanced in development, their society comprises individuals who barely know each other and also do not take any interest in developing rapport with the next door neighbour. They prefer to sit in a corner reading a magazine rather than communicating with a person next to them. Thus we see that there exists a much stronger bond between the Nepalese than between the people of other countries. So although development is not a piece of your cake and you are most likely to come last in this race of Einstein’s Science, do not despair since it is a certitude that you will always stand at the zenith if there comes a question of humanity. So all I have to say is Cheer up Nepalis!

HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nepal

By Dr Achyut Bhattarai

In the early 1980s when the HIV epidemic first started, most developing countries including Nepal did not perceive it as a major public health problem. Today, HIV/AIDS has emerged as a significant public health problem and in due course it will contribute significantly to the disease burden of Nepal.

The epidemic: In Nepal the first case of HIV infection was detected in 1988 and ever since, the disease has been constantly on the rise. At the end of October 2000, there were about 1700 reported cases of HIV infection far less than the officially estimated figure of 34,000. The rate of infection among certain sub-groups is alarmingly high. Injecting drug users and sex workers have the highest sero-positivity rate.

Although it is not well-established in the general population, HIV has rapidly spread among these two sub-groups. Therefore it must be said that Nepal is already facing a concentrated epidemic of HIV/AIDS. The future of the epidemic largely depends upon the frequency and nature of links between these two sub-groups and the general population.

In other words, sexual networking between these two sub-groups and the general population will considerably fuel the epidemic. Drug users and clients of sex workers are likely to further spread the infection to their sex partners (spouses and or others) and their babies. This cycle of transmission, if uninterrupted or inhibited, will soon push Nepal into a generalized epidemic.

Prevention and control: Reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS is the key in containing the infection. Several approaches such as sexual abstinence, postponement of sexual debut, mutual fidelity and condom promotion have been advocated as tools for HIV prevention. However, these tools can be effective only if we are able to create an environment that will make behavioural changes possible. And that is not be possible until people have a certain degree of sexual health education. Therefore, advocacy for the aforementioned tools must always accompany sex education.

Another important issue regarding the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS identified in the UNAIDS Report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic states, "The relationship between violence and HIV is often indirect: the fear of violence makes it more difficult for women to refuse unsafe sex. In the case of sexual violence, however, the relationship can be very direct". Therefore, it will not be possible to effectively prevent and control the epidemic without empowering women; especially in a country like ours where domestic violence and sexual violence directed against women and girls are so rampant.

Care and support: Programmes addressing the needs of HIV-infected and affected people has always been at the bottom list of HIV/AIDS activities. Resources are often centered at prevention and control programmes hence care and support programmes remain largely neglected. The increasing number of people living with HIV/AIDS demands comprehensive care and support strategy.

The care of people living with HIV/AIDS extend far beyond drugs and other health care. The WHO’s Global Programme on AIDS advocates that care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS should be comprehensive and they should embrace the psychological, spiritual, social and medical dimensions.

Medical care for HIV-infected patients in Nepal is unsystematic if not unscientific. Nationally adopted and applicable clinical protocols (for the management of HIV-related illness), logistics support for the practice of universal precautions and adequately trained human resources are all lacking. These might be the reasons why health care institutions are reluctant if not averse to providing services to HIV-infected individuals.

Unless, health institutions and human resources are strengthened through the provision of training in HIV/AIDS management, non-judgmental and non-discriminatory attitudes when caring for HIV-infected individuals cannot always be guaranteed.

Medical care addresses merely the physical well being of a patient. Psychological, spiritual and social support through family members, friends, counsellors and the community at large aids in creating an environment conducive for positive thinking and living. Hence, psychosocial support is an integral part of HIV/AIDS care and should be available through all health care institutions.

Although limited, psychosocial help is available from a few institutions but the same cannot be said of spiritual support. The thinking of our religious institution towards people living with HIV/AIDS in not known. Religious institutions should actively participate in the care and support of people living with HIV/AIDS. Interventions from religious institutions will also help increase social acceptance of the disease thereby reducing stigmatization.

Finally, essential care and support programmes comprising voluntary HIV counselling and testing, psychosocial support, palliative care, treatment and prophylaxis for the commonest HIV-related illnesses should be available through the primary health care programme.