UN envoy: Establishment of interim govt in Nepal

United Nations, Apr 2: The senior UN envoy to Nepal has welcomed the setting up of the country's interim government, but stressed that challenges lie ahead as preparations continue for elections to strengthen democracy in the Himalayan nation.

''I welcome the establishment of the new interim government as a key moment for the consolidation of Nepal's peace process, and I congratulate the leaders of the eight political parties on their willingness to share responsibilities in this transitional period,'' Ian Martin, secretary-general Ban Ki-moon's special representative, said in a statement made available at UN headquarters in New York yesterday.

Yesterday Prime Minister G P Koirala, 85, named five nominees of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to his 22-member multiparty Cabinet.

Martin pointed out that a unified government should be in a stronger position to face the challenges ahead, including ''creating conditions for a credible Constituent Assembly election, addressing the legitimate demands of groups in Nepalese society calling for more inclusive democracy, establishing effective law enforcement across the country, and providing for the future of former combatants and a wider reform of the security sector''.

Mr Martin pledged UN help in ensuring full compliance with the commitments made by the parties to the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies, as well as to support and monitor the electoral process.

''The challenges ahead cannot be overemphasized,'' Mr Martin said, welcoming ''the renewed commitments intended to create conducive environment for polls and to provide for more effective monitoring of agreements, which will be crucial in transforming conditions throughout the districts and which the United Nations is committed to assist.'' The elections are likely to be held on June 20.

He added that success will require effective law enforcement that respects international standards, accountability for violations of citizens' rights, and ending breaches of the commitments under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The Security Council established UNMIN in January to assist with the follow-up to the Nepalese peace deal and also to support this year's planned elections in Nepal, where 10 years of civil war killed around 15,000 people and displaced more than 100,000.

In February, the UN chief appointed Martin, who is a Briton, as his special representative in Nepal, heading the UNMIN.

Martin had been the secretary-general's personal representative in that country since 2006 and representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal since May 2005.

Earlier, he undertook a troubleshooting assignment as special envoy of the UN chief for Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor), where he had served as special representative of the secretary-general for the East Timor Popular Consultation in 1999.

Martin had also served in peacekeeping or human rights missions in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ethiopia/Eritrea. He was secretary general of Amnesty International from 1986 through 1992.

UNI