NEPAL: GUIDANCE FOR UNSC DEBATE ON UNMIN

UNCLAS STATE 118173 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNSC UNMIN PREL NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: GUIDANCE FOR UNSC DEBATE ON UNMIN ¶1. The Department requests that USUN draw on the following points in making its intervention during the UN Security Council debate on the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) on Friday, November 7. ¶2. Begin points: Mr. President: -- We welcome Special Representative Martin to the Council today and thank him for his briefing. -- In the last year, the country of Nepal has made progress that is nothing short of remarkable. It has emerged from an insurgency, begun a peace process, held elections, seen the peaceful abdication of its king and formed an elected government. We commend the people of Nepal for their ongoing commitment to the peace process, and again thank Special Representative Martin and the staff of UNMIN for their diligent work in facilitating much of this progress. We also recognize his efforts to downsize UNMIN as it completes many aspects of its mandate. -- As the Secretary General's report makes clear, however, there remains much more to be done. We share the concerns highlighted in the report. We hope the Constituent of Assembly can make real progress in the drafting Nepal's constitution and complete this task within the two-year period stipulated by the interim constitution. We also hope to see more progress in the implementation of other peace process commitments, the integration of the Maoist and Nepalese army forces, and in the government's ability to protect the people of Nepal and to guarantee their human rights. The expectations of the Nepali people are high, and the government must act to fulfill them. -- The United States appreciates the efforts by the Special Representative to push the peace process forward. We urge the Government of Nepal and the other major parties to redouble their efforts to make progress on the formation of the special committee and its supporting technical committee. -- The peace process cannot move forward without progress on the issue of Maoist combatants. Therefore, the United States urges the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist to take concrete steps to transform its militant Young Communist League into an exclusively non-violent organization. The United States urges the other parties to take similar steps with their militant youth wings. The United States further urges the government of Nepal to consider taking immediate steps to comply with the Special Representative's suggestions to consolidate arms and soldiers into fewer cantonments, and to discharge minors. -- We will look forward to hearing the Government of Nepal's views on the role of the UN and UNMIN when the time comes to consider UNMIN's mandate after the New Year. The United States is willing to consider an extension and appropriate adjustments to UNMIN's mandate, depending on the further progress achieved in the implementation of the peace process. It is important that the Government of Nepal is able to demonstrate to the Council that the UN's efforts will continue to contribute to lasting peace and stability. End points. RICE