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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
NEPAL: UN arms monitors to begin work next week
KATHMANDU, 5 Jan 2007 (IRIN) - The first batch of United Nations arms monitors are to begin their work in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, and the southwestern border city of Nepalganj, on Monday, Ian Martin, personal representative of the UN Secretary-General, confirmed on Friday.
The monitors have been given the task of overseeing the disarmament of rebel Maoist fighters following November’s peace deal between the rebels and the multi-party government.
The agreement ended ten years of conflict in which more than 14,000 people were killed, and upwards of 200,000 Nepalese were internally displaced.
The agreement was reached between the UN, Nepal’s seven-party government and Maoist representatives, who will join a transitional government ahead of planned elections.
Around 13 UN arms monitors have already arrived in Nepal, and are undergoing training ahead of their work in the capital and Nepalganj (600 km from Kathmandu).
“We expect further arrivals every few days, and the balance of the 35 already authorised will undertake training next week, and will be available for deployment from 15 January,” said Martin.
As part of the disarmament programme, the UN has brought in storage containers, which are currently being stored in six different sites across the Himalayan country. The United Nations Development Programme will later begin the task of registering the weapons, and later, combatants.
Meanwhile, the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC), comprising representatives from the Maoist Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA), the Nepal Army (NA), and the UN, has already agreed to the recruitment of 111 members for the Interim Task Force (ITF).
As part of the tripartite agreement, the ITF was created to hire Nepalese ex-servicemen from the Indian and British armies to enable 24-hour security at the weapons storage sites.
The ITF - whose activities will be coordinated through the UN and other parties - will be phased out once the deployment of the UN monitors reaches the required capacity, said Martin.
The country’s elections are scheduled for June. Martin said that his office will assist with voter education from next week.
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This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2007
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