|
Time is Short for the Parties to Create Conditions for UNMIN’s Orderly Departure
|
In 61 days, UNMIN’s mandate will expire. Two months have already passed since the Government requested a final extension, and the Security Council agreed. Under the four-point agreement of 13 September, UNMIN was to be asked to stay for a final four months, while the parties committed themselves to “basically complete” the major tasks of the peace process by 15 January. This commitment meant that significant progress should by now have been made on the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel. Delays are not unusual in any peace process, and in Nepal, all aspects have taken longer than foreseen. Deadlines have come and gone, and been reset, often without major repercussions. But on 15 January 2011, UNMIN expected to stop its monitoring of the management, of the Maoist army personnel and the Nepal Army.
Over the past eight months we have been in discussion with the parties on how, and to whom, we might hand over any monitoring tasks that remain. Some senior political leaders share the view that it would be preferable to move quickly into arrangements for integration and rehabilitation, rather than into recreating monitoring arrangements which will need to be agreed at the political level. While the UN's monitoring of the management of arms and armies in Nepal has been a success, the arrangements took time to set up and have been staff-intensive, costly, and prone to criticism. Our experiences are worth bearing in mind. In recent days, the parties have hinted that they are on the brink of a political breakthrough. This would go a long way to creating conditions for UNMIN’s smooth exit. But if there will still be a need for monitoring and for dispute resolution after 15 January, the parties should give urgent attention to gaps that will be left by UNMIN's departure. Drawn up by the parties, and signed in December 2006 in UNMIN's presence, the AMMAA forms part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It stipulates restrictions on the Maoist army and the Nepal Army, how these, and the designated weapons, are monitored by UNMIN, and the resolution of questions and disputes through the UNMIN-chaired Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC). What will happen to the AMMAA and to the JMCC in the absence of UNMIN should be settled promptly. What will happen to the future monitoring of the Nepal Army, established by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement but beyond the scope of the Special Committee, should also be cleared up. The second question is whether or not the Secretariat, as a part of its supervisory role, is expected to step into the monitoring functions currently performed by UNMIN. The provisions adopted by the Special Committee do not appear to have anticipated UNMIN's departure. Rather, they foresaw that the Secretariat would work in coordination with UNMIN in the monitoring and vetting of the conditions of arms and ammunition, among other activities. It is in the interest of the peace process that UNMIN's exit from Nepal be orderly and organised. The extent to which this will succeed, and avoid opening a problematic vacuum in the peace process, lies largely in the hands of the parties themselves. Taking steps to resolve quickly and unambiguously the monitoring issues set out here will have the added advantage of helping to increase confidence among the principal political actors. UNMIN will continue its active discussions with the parties to help reach this end.
#SecurityCouncil #PeaceProcess #UNMIN #Rehabilitation
|
Publisher:
UNMIN
,
(2011
) |
Type / Script:
Bulletin or Poster
in English
|
Keywords:
PEACE, CONFLICT, CONSTITUTIONS, PEACE AGREEMENTS, PEACE BUILDING, PEACEMAKING, POLITICAL PARTIES, POLITICAL CONDITIONS, ARMED CONFLICTS, POLITICAL SYSTEMS, PEACE MOVEMENTS, ELECTIONS, VIOLENCE, POLITICAL REPRESSION, LAW, POLITICAL OPPOSITION, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, ARMED FORCES, DISARMAMENT, NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, ELECTIONS, PEACE ENFORCEMENT, CIVIL WAR
|
Thematic Group:
UNMIN
:
Peace and Conflict through Political Mission
|
Thesaurus:
01.01.00
- Political Conditions, Institutions, Movements
|
Reference Link:
|
|
|
** This document has been:
1434
times viewed
9
times downloaded. Feeder:
ANJANA SHRESTHA
, Editor:
MALIKA THAPA
, Auditor:
View Document History
|
|
|
|
|
|
|