"We are concerned that those disqualified continue to remain in the cantonments," Martin told myrepublica.com in a brief interview. "In particular, we are very much concerned that minors have not been discharged yet."
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Read interview: Minors in cantonments, any recruitment violation of agreements
Martin, who is leaving for New York Sunday to brief the UN Security Council over the progress of peace process in Nepal, also expressed the hope that Nepal government would act soon to release the minors from the UN-monitored 28 cantonments throughout Nepal.
A verification by UNMIN last year found that there are about 2,973 minors, besides 4000 other disqualified combatants. Among these 4000 are those who left the cantonments and did not return. UNMIN report said there were 19,602 Maoist combatants. The original number was over 31,000. The combatants were kept in cantonments after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in November 2006 that formally ended decade-long Maoist insurgency that resulted in the death of over 13,000 people.
Martin also said that the UNMIN hoped that the special committee that was to oversee the rehabilitation of Maoist combatants would start work soon and complete the rehabilitation so as to take the peace process to a logical conclusion. "We are concerned that this has yet to begin."
The UNMIN head added that he had reminded the then Prime Minister and Defense Minister Girija Prasad Koirala last year that as per the peace agreements no recruitment whatsoever could take place in either armies.
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