GUIDANCE: NOVEMBER 6 UNMIN CONSULTATIONS

UNCLAS STATE 113591 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC NP SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: NOVEMBER 6 UNMIN CONSULTATIONS ¶1. (U) This is an action request. USUN is instructed to draw from the points in paragraph 2 below during consultations following the UN Security Council briefing on the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) scheduled for November 6, 2009. ¶2. (U) Begin points: I would like to thank Representative Landgren for her briefing. I would also like to thank the Representative and her staff for their contributions to the Secretary General's report. The Secretary General's report notes a few positive developments in Nepal's peace process. The Special Committee to supervise, integrate and rehabilitate Maoist army personnel has resumed its work. Its Technical Committee has proposed a mechanism for the supervision of Maoist army personnel, as well as a code of conduct for them. Moreover, both the Maoist Army and the Nepal Army have -- on the whole -- complied with the confinement of their forces to cantonments and barracks, respectively, as stipulated in the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). These are laudable achievements and suggest that all parties in Nepal remain committed to the basic framework of the CPA. Despite these small steps, however, Nepal's peace process remains in crisis. The Secretary General's report accurately depicts a situation of prolonged stalemate among the major parties regarding the implementation of the terms of the CPA. We share the Secretary General's assessment that the core commitments in Nepal's peace process have yet to be implemented. We further call upon the leaders of all the major parties in Nepal to move past the mistrust that has stymied progress on central elements of the peace process. We are particularly concerned about the slow progress in the discharge of approximately 4,000 disqualified personnel, almost 3,000 of whom are minors, from the Maoist cantonments. We support the steps taken on October 11 to begin the discharge process, and call on the Government of Nepal and the Maoist leaders to provide energetic leadership to ensure the speedy resolution of this issue. The successful discharge of these disqualified personnel -- and their rehabilitation and reintegration into Nepali society -- is a critical first step in moving forward on the core commitments outlined in the CPA. In addition, we note that, three years after the signing of the CPA, approximately 19,000 Maoist combatants remain in cantonments. Despite the resumed meetings of the Special Committee and the Technical Committee, no agreement has been achieved on the future of these Maoist army personnel. We reiterate the Secretary General's call on all parties to build consensus on this key issue of army integration, a central element of Nepal's peace process. Equally important, we share the Secretary General's concern over the repeated delays in drafting the new constitution. We urge the leadership of all parties to work for consensus on key substantive issues in the constitution drafting process, including federalism and the shape the government should take. We commend the election in August of a chair for the Constitutional Committee. However, we are dismayed that the drafting process is falling farther and farther behind schedule. We call on the senior leaders of the main parties to engage fully in the Constituent Assembly discussions on the new constitution, and to meet the scheduled May 28, 2010 completion date. Today, Nepal's peace process faces the challenge of political stalemate and drift. It is time for leaders of all the major parties in Nepal to exercise leadership, and to build consensus, on the core commitments of the peace process. The United States will maintain its support to the people of Nepal and their efforts to complete the peace process. As always, we will remain good friends, as Nepalis work to build a prosperous and peaceful future for their country. End points. CLINTON