UN concerned over delays in Nepal's peace process

Jul 31, 2009, 13:37 GMT

   Kathmandu - The United Nations on Friday expressed worries over delays in Nepal's peace process by squabbles among political parties.

   Karin Landgren, the chief of the UN Mission in Nepal, said it was a matter of urgent concern that progress in the peace process had fallen behind.

   Landgren spoke in Kathmandu after briefing the UN Security Council ahead of its extension this month of the UN mission's term by another six months.

   'The Security Council had before them the secretary general's report, covering a period in which the peace process remained stagnant on several fronts and during which trust, confidence and consensus among the parties deteriorated sharply,' Landgren said.

   Nepal's 2-and-a-half-year-old peace process was thrown into disarray after the collapse of the Maoist-led government in May following a power struggle with the president over the sacking of the army chief.

   Since then, a major component of the peace pact - the integration of former rebel fighters into the army - has been stalled, which in turn has led to growing mistrust between the main political parties.

   Landgren urged the parties to continue their cooperation so the peace process would not be obstructed.

   'It is critical that all parties show restraint in words and in actions with strict adherence to the peace agreements, to re-establish the necessary confidence, and that they articulate a common vision of the peaceful path ahead,' Landgren said.

   She also called for a speedy resolution of integrating thousands of Maoists combatants who remain in UN-monitored camps across the Himalayan nation.

   The resumption of the work of the Special Committee on Army Integration is also linked to the UN mission's own exit strategy, she said.

   Of the nearly 31,000 Maoist combatants, 19,602 passed through the rigid UN verification process, which, in theory, qualified them for integration into the Nepalese security force.

   'Determining the future of the former Maoist army combatants is absolutely critical to building a lasting peace in Nepal,' Landgren said. '

   The UN also disqualified just over 4,000 combatants, a third of them minors who remain in Maoist camps.

   Earlier this month, the Nepalese government formally said it had started the process of rehabilitating the minors and other disqualified combatants into society.