Progress on key elements in Nepal's peace process have slowed down or stalled altogether owing to the country's recent political crisis, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here on Monday, proposing a six-month extension of the United Nations mission to continue assisting with remaining tasks.
"The two major tasks at the current stage of the peace process are the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist army personnel and the drafting of the new constitution," Ban said in his latest report on the request of Nepal for UN assistance in support of the peace process.
He notes that efforts to advance on both these fronts slowed with the onset of the crisis sparked by the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ("Prachanda") in early May, which occurred one day after the Chief of Army Staff -- who he had fired-- was reinstated.
A senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), Madhav Kumar Nepal, was elected Prime Minister on May 23 and subsequently formed a new coalition government with the support of 21 other political parties but without the participation of the Maoists.
"The modest progress witnessed in some aspects of the peace process during the first quarter of 2009 has stalled against a backdrop of mistrust and a further deterioration of relations among key stakeholders, notably between UCPN-M [Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist] and the other major parties and between UCPN-M and the Nepal Army," the secretary-general said.
In particular, he noted that while there were promising signs of progress with regard to resolving the future of the Maoist army personnel, efforts have remained at a "standstill" since late April.
"A planning process should be initiated to address in parallel the commitment contained in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution to democratize and determine the appropriate size of the Nepal Army, while ensuring that the institution reflects the diversity of Nepal and is imbued with the values of democracy and human rights," he said.
Meanwhile, the task of drafting the constitution has continued to move forward, albeit with numerous hurdles.
"There is near unanimity that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to meet the prescribed time frame of May 2010 for the promulgation of a new constitution," Ban said, strongly encouraging progress in this area, based on consensus among the main political actors and the wider public.
He adds that political leaders in Nepal have expressed the view that the presence of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is needed until the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist army personnel is resolved. Therefore, he recommends that the UN mission's mandate be extended for a further six months, until Jan.23, 2010.
Established following the signing of the 2006 peace deal by the government and the Maoists to end the country's decade-long civil war, UNMIN has been assisting with key tasks, such as monitoring of the management of arms and armed personnel of the Maoists and the Nepal Army.
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