PM Dahal has not only tricked people with his hollow commitments, but also left the international community confused by his endless promises that would certainly go unheeded. A case in point is Dahal’s commitments made to various United Nations dignitaries on peace process-related issues.
It all started during UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s official visit to Nepal from October 31-November 1 last year. PM Dahal promised Secretary-General Ban that the paramilitary functioning of the Young Communist League (YCL) would be ended and the disqualified Maoist combatants released from the cantonments.
During his meeting with Radhika Coomaraswamy, the visiting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict the following December, Dahal made a time-bound commitment to release by the end of February 2,973 Maoist combatants verified as minors. There has been no movement at all on the release process, except for the formation of a technical sub-committee of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC). Members of the sub-committee say it will take at least three more months to complete the release of minors from the cantonments.
Last month, during the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, PM Dahal again made another time-bound commitment, to get back to the UN human rights body within two weeks on Pillay’s request for extension of the term of her office in Nepal by three years. Three weeks later, the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) is still waiting for the PM’s response.
Pillay needed an answer from the government on her request as soon as possible because, says Marty Logan, OHCHR-Nepal spokesperson: “We have more than 100 employees whose futures are uncertain until that decision is made and because OHCHR is a global organization that follows an integrated planning process, so any changes in the Nepal office have an impact on the organization overall.”
OHCHR-Nepal is the largest field mission of the UN rights body and if it is to shut down after June, it needs to plan accordingly. “Of course, we have already made plans to work after June if our mandate is extended. This includes downsizing the office - on 1 July we will have roughly 104 staff (including 24 internationals), a reduction from the 177 (including 74 international) staff that we had in December 2007,” Logan told myrepublica.com. In the event OHCHR-Nepal’s mandate is to be extended, it is planning to focus on three key areas: capacity-building of national human rights institutions and individuals; promoting a culture of accountability and respect for rule of law; and promoting enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
Om Sharma, the press advisor to the PM, told myrepublica.com that the prime minister is not yet close to any decision on OHCHR-Nepal’s future. “Preparations and discussions are still going on,” said Sharma. However, in recent days and weeks, mouthpieces of the ruling Unified CPN-Maoist have run a number of stories arguing that OHCHR is no longer needed in Nepal. PM Dahal had asked for two weeks to come to a decision so that he would have enough time for consultations with the political parties.
Meanwhile, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief in Nepal, Gillian Mellsop, is eagerly waiting for “notable progress” in advance of the upcoming Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict. UNICEF has reaffirmed its readiness to the prime minister to support implementation of the commitment to discharge the verified minors and to ensure planning for their reintegration.
Various UN agencies have developed joint UN discharge plans and reintegration support packages for disqualified Maoist combatants. UNICEF and its implementing partners are currently providing community-based reintegration support to children affected by armed conflict, covering over 7,500 children and youths in 58 districts, according to Mellsop. “The program has as its highest priority support for return and reintegration of children associated with armed forces and armed groups, but it also provides assistance to children that were otherwise affected by the conflict and children at risk of recruitment into emerging armed groups; being misused for political purposes; and exposed to small arms, landmines, IEDs and other explosive devices.”
Responding to the Maoists’ assertion that those who were verified as minors by the UN are already adults and they shouldn’t be returned, Mellsop said, “Although some verified minors may have turned 18 while waiting to be released, this status does not extinguish their rights to a formal discharge and reintegration process.”
tilak@myrepublica.com
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