Minors in cantonments, recruitment violation of agreements

Ian Martin, the Special Representative of Secretary-General is leaving in February after three-and-half-years in Nepal, a period which, in his own words, has been an "extraordinary" one. He is leaving the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) that he presided since January 23, 2007 after it is further downsized. In place of Special Representative, a Representative will now be heading UNMIN whose term is set to be renewed for six months by UN Security Council. Martin is leaving on Sunday to brief the UN Security Council in New York. He spoke briefly with myrepublica.com. Here are the excerpts of the interview:

myrepublica.com: So you are leaving UNMIN and Nepal?

Martin: Yes, I will return around January 25 and will then be handing over my responsibilities. I will leave Nepal in February after saying my farewells here.

myrepublica.com: Who will replace you as head of UNMIN?

Martin: That can´t be made public until the Security Council decides on the Secretary-General´s recommendation to extend UNMIN´s term by six months.

myrepublica.com: Where does the peace process stand in Nepal right now?

Martin: It is not completed and it won´t be until the issue of the armies is resolved. In his most recent report to the Security Council, the (UN) Secretary General (Ban Ki-moon) has termed the peace process still "fragile".

myrepublica.com: What would you rank as a major obstacle before the peace process reaches its logical conclusion?

Martin: The one which is closely linked to UNMIN´s mandate is the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants (who are now living in UN-monitored 28 cantonments throughout the country) and until this issue is resolved peace process won´t be complete. We are concerned that this has yet to begin.

myrepublica.com: Do you think the rehabilitation of Maoist combatants has been politicized?

Martin: I think there has been too much public stating of positions by political parties. The issue would be resolved best if the political leaders talked with each other within the agreed process rather than though the media here. The special committee, that was supposed to address this, needs to be activated and once this happens we hope the integration and rehabilitation of the combatants would be expedited.

myrepublica.com: How do you see the controversy over recruitment by Nepal Army and a similar intent by PLA?

Martin: We´ve had a very clear and long-standing view about what various peace agreements say about recruitment by both the armies. As far as we are concerned, they say that there should be no recruitment of any kind in either army. The request that the Nepalese Army should be able to fill vacancies was not agreed when the Arms Monitoring Agreement was negotiated, and when recruitment took place in 2007 I wrote to the then Prime Minister and Minister of Defense (Girija Prasad Koirala) to say that this was a breach of the agreement.

myrepublica.com: In any rank?

Martin: Yes.

myrepublica.com: How do you see the reluctance on the part of the Maoist leadership to discharge disqualified combatants, and in particular, minors from the camps?

Martin: Discharge has been long overdue and we have said so repeatedly. Recently the prime minister gave a commitment to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict that those disqualified would be discharged. We are discussing the modalities with the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction.

myrepublica.com: But what if the Maoists continue to ignore UNMIN´s verification results and continue to keep the disqualified in the cantonments?

Martin: Everyone knows that UNMIN has no enforcement mandate. What we can do is draw attention of the government and the (Communist Party of Nepal) Maoists over this. The Secretary-General did so himself during his visit and does so again in his latest report to the Security Council. We are concerned that those disqualified continue to remain in the cantonments. In particular, we are very much concerned that minors have not been discharged yet.

myrepublica.com: Although UNMIN has no enforcement mandate, what can the UN as a whole do if the minors are not discharged soon?

Martin: Nepal is among the countries named by the Security Council for recruitment of children and we hope the government will honor its commitments. It needs to act immediately to release the minors from the camps. This is an issue of strong concern at the highest level of the UN, not just UNMIN.

myrepublica.com: UNMIN has been accused of bias by both the CPN (Maoist) and Nepali Congress? Your views?

Martin: (Chuckles). We have always tried to play our role objectively and in relation to peace agreements reached by all political parties. Our commitment is to the overall peace process, not the interests of any particular political party.

myrepublica.com: Have you started writing the book you said you would write on Nepal?

Martin: Well, I certainly intend to write about Nepal’s peace process but I have not begun yet. Once I am stationed in New York (soon after the Nepal posting), I will begin it in earnest.