UN political chief urges swift action to meet peace process deadline in Nepal

UN political chief urges swift action to meet peace process deadline in Nepal

2010-10-15 06:07:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe on Thursday said that swift action is needed to overcome Nepal's political impasse in order to meet the peace process deadline in Nepal.

The deadline in Nepal to wrap up its stalled peace process was set for January 2011. The Nepalese opposing political groups reached the so-called Four-Point Agreement on completing the remaining tasks of the peace process.

"Despite some important steps having been taken, no breakthrough has been achieved. It is too early to conclude that the parties are on a course that would see the Four-Point Agreement implemented by the January deadline," Pascoe said.

Three months after Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned, the country is still being led by a provisional Government, with 12 rounds of voting in the Legislature-Parliament failing to produce a new leader.

"The prolonged political stalemate in Nepal, most vividly symbolized by the continuing failure to elect a new Prime Minister, is compounded by persistent internal divisions within the main political parties, personal interests and calculations, and regional factors," the UN political chief said.

In 2006, the government and the Maoists signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that signaled the end of a civil war which claimed around 13,000 lives and about ten years.

In 2007, the UN’s special political mission in Nepal was established to help Nepal hold elections for the Constituent Assembly, monitor the arms and armies for both the Government and Maoist sides, provide technical assistance to the Election Commission, and assist in monitoring the ceasefire.

Unfortunately, the UN’s special political mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has been immersed in controversies caused by deterioration in the political climate, misrepresentations of its mandate and the reality of UNMIN's limited possibilities.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-10-15