GUIDANCE FOR UNSC DEBATE ON UNMIN

UNCLAS STATE 044662

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNSC UNMIN PREL NP
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR UNSC DEBATE ON UNMIN


1. The Department requests USUN to draw on the following
points for use during the UN Security Council's debate on the
UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN),scheduled to take place on May 5.


2. Begin points:

-- We are pleased to welcome SRSG Landgrin to the Council
for the first time and thank her for her briefing. The
United States appreciates the efforts by the Special
Representative and her staff to complete the tasks within
UNMIN,s mandate and to continue to assist the Nepali
government in moving the peace process forward.

-- We take special note of both the progress and the
setbacks the report outlines in Nepal's efforts to carry
out the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. We
bear in mind always the enormous achievements of the
people of Nepal. They have peacefully ended
an insurgency, begun a process of reconciliation, and
formed a government.

-- These accomplishments remain at risk, however, while so
many important aspects of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
remain unfulfilled. The Maoist-led government and the Nepali
Army must recognize that a cornerstone of any democracy is
civilian control of the military and the prudent exercise of
that control. As the report details, there has been some
progress on the integration of the People's Liberation Army
and the Nepali Army but this progress is threatened by
infighting between the government and the Nepali Army.

-- We are pleased that the Special Committee has begun
regular consultations and welcome the establishment of the
Technical Committee to aid the implementation of its
decisions. We remain deeply concerned by the Secretary
General's report that differences between the parties in the
coalition government continues to impede decision making. We
urge the major parties to redouble their efforts to
facilitate the work of integrating and rehabilitating Maoist
army personnel. As a step forward, we urge the government
of Nepal to take immediate steps to adopt the Special
Representative's suggestions to consolidate arms and soldiers
into fewer cantonments, and to discharge minors.

-- Continued misuse of political youth groups also threatens
the peace process. 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 youth wings.

-- As reflected in the statement adopted by the Council, we
call on the government of Nepal and the major political
parties to recommit themselves to the peace process in order
to both meet their obligations to the Nepali people and to
conclude UNMIN,s mandate. As we look forward to the end of
the current mandate in June, we will look for concrete
demonstration of that commitment from the Government of Nepal
in considering any recommendations or requests it may offer
regarding UNMIN,s future. We plan to consult with our
Council colleagues as we seek to conclude UNMIN,s mandate,
preserve the enormous progress the people of Nepal have made
in establishing peace and stability, and decide how best the
Council can contribute to lasting peace and stability in
Nepal going forward.

End points.
CLINTON