 |
Kathmandu Saturday March 10, 2001 Falgun 27, 2057.
|
Nepal to get one, lose another
UNESCO regional office likely to be shifted
By Damakant Jayshi & Satish Jung Shahi
KATHMANDU, March 9 – Just three days before the whistle-stop visit
by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to Nepal, both good and bad developments are in the
offing for the country. It’s a tale about headquarters – while one is coming
here, another is on its way out.
The good news is that the de jure status of the regional Peace and
Disarmament Centre (PDC) in Kathmandu (for Asia-Pacific) is likely to come to Nepal
physically.
While the bad news is that the regional headquarters of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is, in all probability, likely
to be shifted out of the Himalayan nation.
Murari Raj Sharma, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the UN, who is in the
capital in connection to the General Secretary’s visit, told The Kathmandu Post that
there was a high probability of Nepal, currently designated as one of the only three peace
and disarmament centres in the world, will be physically housed in Kathmandu with the
Director’s office.
Sharma, who played a key role in placing Nepal on Annan’s upcoming tour
itinerary in a revised schedule, said, "By July 31, the UN Secretariat has to submit
its report to the UN General Assembly on shifting of the Director’s office after
consulting all the concerned countries and the agencies." Sharma added that unlike in
previous years when the Secretariat used to prepare all by itself, this time around, Nepal
is providing a lot of inputs for the report.
The July report, said Sharma, would help Nepal to present better its
resolution on the PDC in the UN General Assembly expected to be held in November. The
prospect of the resolution sailing through has been boosted with China and India agreeing
to be its co-sponsors. This is the first time that India has agreed to be one of the
co-sponsors to the resolution that has a backing of more than half of over 50 Asian
nations.
However, Nepal is yet to officially pursue the matter at the regional level.
"We need regional consensus before taking up the issue globally and we are confident
of getting the regional support," Sharma said. Nepal paid 7,000 US dollars annually,
from 1988-97, for the operational costs of the Peace and Disarmament Centre in the hope of
housing it in Kathmandu. However, Nepal refrained from paying the cost as the things did
not move right. Now Nepal is, once again, pursuing the matter vigorously.
Speaking about the establishment of the Regional UN Peace-Keeping Training
Centre at Paanchkhal in Kavre district, some 45 kilometers east of Kathmandu, Sharma said
that the issue, among others, is on agenda for discussion during Annan’s forthcoming
visit.
The prospects of Nepal housing yet another important centre of global
importance was bolstered recently by the visits of the British State Secretary for
Defence, Mongolian President and the Chinese Defence Minister to the Royal Nepal Army
base.
The Nepali UN official also revealed that the UN has approached Nepal for its
peacekeeping operation in another African country, Congo. Nepal has already received
similar proposal for Sierra Leone.
Another positive developments is the establishment of United Nations South
Asia Research Facility, comprised of regional experts to advise the country officials on
various issues concerning UN.
But the possible shifting of UNESCO regional centre out of Nepal comes as a
hitch to these developments. A very high-level UN official, requesting anonymity, told The
Kathmandu Post that the discussions were on regarding the possible relocation of the
regional office. However, he denied that it was due to the alleged reports of corruption
and mismanagement in the Kathmandu office. "The discussions are part of normal
re-structuring plan." He also hinted on the possibility that the relocation could
take place in any of the SAARC countries.
Regarding the agenda during Annan’s brief stay in Kathmandu, Dr Henning
Karcher, Resident Representative of UN mission in Nepal, said that although there is no
set agenda, all areas of development will be discussed. Immediately after landing in
Kathmandu, the UN chief is scheduled to embark on a mountain flight and later meet His
Majesty the King, the Prime Minister and Foreign, Defence and Finance ministers and other
officials.
Other Stories
|
