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| Kathmandu, Monday December 23, 2002 Paush 08, 2059. |
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Framework for national
security council
By MADHUKAR SJB RANA
Changes to the constitution are probable as
negotiations between the King, political parties and
Maoists proceed to end the long-drawn insurgency and terrorism. A vital institution that
went amiss in the 1990 Constitution was the establishment of a National Security Council
(NSC) as an integral part of the body politic, constitutionally enshrined with a clear-cut
mandate as to its nature, scope and powers.
Purpose: The establishment of a NSC is to
preserve the territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence of the nation; promote
national interest, national unity; and safeguard the sanctity of the national constitution
though non-partisan debate, discourse and dialogue openly arrived at so as to garner
national consensus on all security issues.
In times of normality it reviews the current
status of national security and alerts HMG on policy issues, needs and priorities. During
times of political, economic, social or environmental crises and emergencies it aims to
alert citizens on the gravity of the situation and propose avenues for the maintenance of
peace, security, law and order by HMG.
Rationale: The rationale for its creation is to
strengthen the state to deal with the diverse threats, from within and without its
frontiers, while creating a conducive strategic environment for maximizing the devolution
of political, economic and social responsibilities to the local communities in order to
foster maximum grassroots’ participation by all ethnic groups and individuals.
Its other rationale is to seek a national
consensus on the declaration of national emergency as well as for the deployment of the
armed forces for internal and external security operations so as to protect the armed
forces from the demoralizing and divisive impact of divided political opinions.
Goals: 1. Ensure that an effective, efficient
and a well-coordinated command, control and communication structure, systems and processes
are in place to combat external aggression and prevent interference in the affairs of the
nation.
2. Empower the state from threats to its
constitutional legitimacy from civil wars, insurgency, terrorism and breakdown of law and
order through the joint deliberation by the core institutions of monarchy, prime minister,
legislature, political parties, bureaucracy, security agencies, and civil society.
3. Identify short, medium and long-run threats
to Nepal’s security and national interests and develop appropriate strategies based
on sound, scientific research and analysis subject to open public scrutiny.
4. Monitor, review and evaluate annually the
current state of national security and propose appropriate measures in the context of the
emergent national, regional and global security issues and concepts.
5. Make known to the people the status of
national security policy and address needs for its changes in order to facilitate
effective nationwide discussion on security and foreign affairs so as to provide effective
feedback to HMG.
Composition and functions: The NSC should be a
constitutional organ functioning in the nature of King-in-Council. The King serves as
Chairman, Crown Prince as Vice Chairman and Prime Minister as Alternate Vice Chairman.
Other Members of the Executive Council be
comprised of: Speaker; Upper House Chairman; Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs and
National Security, Leaders of all Parties-in-Parliament; Chief Secretary, Chief of Army
Staff, Inspector Generals of Police and Armed Police, five eminent independent experts
nominated by the King serving as National Security Advisors (political, economic, social,
environmental and gender). A Secretary-General serves as Member-Secretary and CEO of the
NSC Secretariat with no voting rights in the Council.
NSC meetings shall be inaugurated by the King
when the Prime Minister, on behalf of HMG, presents the annual report entitled
‘National Security Problems, Needs and Issues’. Following plenary discussions,
participation should be in sub-committees, as necessary, led by each of the related
national security advisor. Further sub-committee level discussions shall be centred on
security themes as decided by the King in consultation with the Vice Chairman and
Alternate Chairman. The Closing Address by the King provides directions for future
research and deliberations on current, short-term, mid-term and long-term needs and
perspectives.
The NSC’s semi-annual meeting shall be
convened by the Crown Prince solely to monitor and review the six reports of the key
security agencies namely from the Home Secretary, Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary,
Chief of Army Staff, and Inspector Generals of Police. Based on the deliberations the
Secretary-General shall forward to HMG, through the Chief Secretary, its overview and
recommendations. It is expected that every agency of central and local government shall
have a security unit to submit monthly reports to the Chief Secretary for coordination.
The Chief Secretary shall be responsible for the
writing and dissemination of the Annual State of National Security prepared in
consultation with the secretaries of all the ministries. The Home Ministry shall
coordinate with the security units of the civil services on a day-to-day basis and assist
the Chief Secretary in his security communication duties.
The NSC Secretariat is a body that is
independent of the executive arm of government. Scholars not affiliated to political
parties are drawn from amongst judges, lawyers, diplomats, administrators, academicians,
media and retired security personnel to map out, monitor and anticipate threats arising
from such parameters as for example: the faults of our history; geo-economic and
geo-political forces; unemployment and migration; inequality and inequity; exclusion and
alienation; violence — political, economic and social; role of foreign intelligence
agencies and foreign finance; nexus between parties and the business and electoral mafia;
impact of natural disasters; lessons drawn from actual crisis management interventions by
the government etc. Last, but not least, the NSC Secretariat needs to have the expertise
to do sophisticated futures’ studies to identify diverse constraints, conflicts and
opportunity scenarios for consideration of appropriate short-term, medium-term and
long-term strategies and to evolve guiding principles and concepts. It needs to be manned
with highly qualified people of integrity, who are well paid and well trained in security
affairs.
A NSC Executive Committee shall be created with
the Chief National Security Adviser as Chairperson and having the rank of Minister while
serving as permanent invitee to all cabinet meetings. The four other National Security
Advisers, with the status of Deputy Ministers, shall be full time members of the NSC
Executive Committee. Their terms of appointment shall be for four years for a maximum of
eight years. They may be recommended for removal by the Parliament. No age bar should
apply for national security advisors.
The Secretariat should be established to
undertake research and analysis of security issues continuously around the chosen themes.
Many of the research studies could be contracted to experts in national and international
security think-tank institutions. Each of the functional advisors on the NSC should be
responsible to lead the research studies and to make presentations to the NSC as and when
placed on the agenda for national deliberations.
The NSC Executive Committee may be advised by an
Advisory Council drawn up with international experts and national security experts
nominated by the national political parties and independent security think-tanks.
Powers: The NSC’s powers shall be
constitutionally promulgated and subject to 3/4th majority vote in Parliament for its
authority to be changed. To guarantee financial autonomy its budget shall be voted for
three years by parliament and sanctioned by the Ministry of Finance subject to HMG’s
usual auditing procedures. Its organization structure and staffing patterns shall be as
laid down by itself and its employment policies and procedures shall be as approved by the
Public Service Commission. A Joint Parliamentary Select Committee on National Security
Affairs shall publicly review its functioning and seeks its full accountability to the
elected representatives of the people.
Conclusion: A NSC will permit Nepal to be a
strong ‘unitary state with federal features’ to give full rein to pluralism and
diversity the fullest extent possible in order to maximize social inclusion of all ethnic
groups and local communities for an effective, dynamic system of participatory democracy
with social justice. A weak state cannot sustain democracy, development, devolution,
decentralisation, and deregulation.
The proposed NSC is a supra-structure that is
not meant to erode the authority of the executive ministries but rather to complement and
supplement their endeavours to better communicate and coordinate their tasks in tune with
the broad national security perspective to safeguard national interest, civil liberties
and human rights. Its strength and ingenuity lies in spotting trouble spots, locating
loopholes in present laws, institutions, and sector policies by providing a futuristic,
holistic perspective on national security and interest.
The NSC is a specialist national think-tank that
warns, alerts, indicates, predicts threats and vulnerabilities and seeks national
consensus of how to deal with all manner of threats firmly grounded on collective
analyses, deliberations and dialogue amongst all the national political actors, including
civil society. The existing National Defence Council (NDC) appears like the proposed NSC;
it is not. At the moment the NDC is an executive arm of HMG serving the vital need for
communication and co-ordination between inter-security agencies based on tactical military
operations and, of course, intelligence.
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