"The fact is there is a very tight deadline and parties will have to begin implementation [of the agreements relating to the peace process] quite rapidly to be able to meet the challenging task," Landgren told journalists on Friday. [break]
Her remarks come a day after the UN Security Council (UNSC) extended the mandate of her office till May 15 as requested by the Nepal government. The government has planned to complete the peace process by the deadline and complete the constitution drafting process by May 28 and had requested the UNSC to extend UNMIN´s mandate only till May 15.
In its resolution, the UNSC urged political parties to take full advantage of the expertise and UNMIN´s readiness to facilitate the completion of outstanding aspects of UNMIN´s mandate within the set deadline.
Addressing the press conference organized by UNMIN, Landgren also stressed that parties should live up to their commitment to the peace process by addressing the key issues related to the three-year old peace process.
Integration and rehabilitation of former Maoist army personnel has remained the thorniest issue of the peace process. The parties are yet to decide how many combatants should be integrated in national security forces. Besides, the proposed plan of action on integration and rehabilitation is yet to be finalized. The plan aims at completing the management of 19,602 verified combatants within maximum 112 days since it is enforced.
Any delay in determining the number and the action plan is likely to lead to missing of the deadline.
"We have seen in the discharge process, for example, implementation was able to begin very quickly once political agreement reached. We certainly hope that the parties will be able to meet their commitment to undertake this really large task in the span of next four months," she further said replying to questions of journalists.
Landgren, who returned from New York early this week after briefing the UNSC on Nepal´s peace process, further said that the UNSC was encouraged by the formation of the High-Level Political Mechanism and the proposed plan of action on integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants.
40 per cent disqualified already left
Landgren said that an estimated 40 percent of the disqualified Maoist combatants have already left the cantonments without going through the formal discharge process. She added that the voluntary leaving of the cantonments of the disqualified would not affect the removal of the Maoist party from the UN Secretary General´s list of the parties using children in the armed conflict.
When asked about the reason behind the voluntary leaving of the cantonments by the disqualified, she said that the Maoist army leadership told her that they left the cantonments because they were not qualified during UNMIN verification in 2007 and partly because of frustration.
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