UN unhappy with conditions in Nepal Maoist camps

KATHMANDU, Feb 12 (Reuters) Nepal's government and former Maoist rebels must improve conditions at camps housing thousands of the group's fighters as part of a peace deal between the two sides, a top United Nations envoy today said.

''What I am not satisfied with is the conditions for those living at the cantonment sites, in terms of shelter, sanitation and access ... water and electricity,'' Ian Martin, special representative of the UN Secretary General, told reporters.

''It will have a serious impact on our work if there are not rapid improvements,'' Martin said after a weekend visit to two camps in west Nepal where UN monitors are registering thousands of Maoist fighters and their arms.

A decade-old insurgency against the monarchy killed more than 13,000 people, before last year's peace agreement.

Both sides invited the UN to supervise arms management before the former guerrillas join an interim administration in the run-up to this year's elections for an assembly that will rewrite the country's constitution.

Martin said the initial work of registering the Maoist fighters and locking up their weapons in all seven main cantonment sites was expected to be over by Friday.

The arms will be locked in containers watched by UN monitors. The Maoists will keep the keys, and the army will also store an equal number of weapons before the election set for June.

Yesterday, the Himalayan nation's election commission asked the ruling alliance to quickly prepare electoral laws or risk missing the poll deadline.

Reuters MQA GC1945