NEPAL STATEMENT FOR THE SECURITY COUNCIL

UNCLAS STATE 147950 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNSC PREL KDEM NE SUBJECT: NEPAL STATEMENT FOR THE SECURITY COUNCIL ¶1. This is an action request. USUN is instructed to draw on the points in para 2 during the discussion by Council members following the report of SRSG Ian Martin on October 24. ¶2. Begin points: -- The United States strongly supports the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN),commends the work of Special Representative Martin and his staff and looks forward to working with him under a renewed mandate. -- The U.S. notes Special Representative Martin's report, which states that, after some initial delays, verification of Maoist combatants is complete in four of the seven cantonments. The U.S. calls upon the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist to immediately and unconditionally fulfill its commitments to discharge Maoist personnel deemed ineligible under the agreed criteria, in particular those deemed to have been recruited as minors. -- The United States urges the Government of Nepal to promptly set a date for Constituent Assembly elections, taking into account the time necessary for preparations that will ensure polling is free, transparent, fair and credible, and calls for all parties to abide by the new date. -- The U.S. is providing nearly $10 million in assistance in support of Nepal's transition to democracy in areas such as security sector reform, conflict resolution, civil society, supporting legal institutions, the election commission and political parties. We urge other donors to offer maximum support to ensure that Nepal makes a successful transition. -- The U.S. welcomes UNMIN's technical election assistance to the Government of Nepal. We hope that, when a new election date is announced, resources and conditions will permit UNMIN to capably monitor the parties' adherence to the cease-fire agreement and conditions necessary for an election process free from intimidation. End Points. RICE