21 June, Kathmandu: Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban (UN) Ki-moon have underscored the importance of a credible transitional justice mechanism in post-conflict situations in Nepal.
The Prime Minister met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) at the UN Headquarters in New York on Friday and exchanged views on several areas of mutual interest, with a particular focus on democracy, peace and the constitution writing process in Nepal.
The Prime Minister highlighted that Nepal had recently enacted instruments for truth and reconciliation and enforced disappearances. He also assured that those instruments aim at reconciliation and not mass amnesty as expressed by certain quarters.
While welcoming Prime Minister Koirala, the Secretary-General appreciated the contribution of Nepal to the UN peacekeeping missions in different parts of the world, and expressed his hope for its continuation. He particularly appreciated the professionalism and courage of Nepalese peacekeepers and thanked the Government of Nepal for deploying its troops in highly challenging Missions.
Ban said that the UN was striving for gender balance in peacekeeping forces and encouraged more female peacekeepers from Nepal.
Secretary-General Ban encouraged Nepal to make use of the available UN system organs, such as the one for LDCs and LLDCs, for its economic development.
In response, Prime Minister Koirala said Nepal is determined to develop and thanked the UN system for its support to that end. He also highlighted the development potential of Nepal in the field of hydropower, tourism, agriculture and valuable herbs, and also emphasized that Nepal – both as LDC and LLDC – deserved special support of the international community in its development endeavors.
Prime Minister Koirala reiterated the unflinching faith of Nepal in the UN ideals and assured of continued contribution to the UN peacekeeping, and of raising the number of women peacekeepers along the way. Koirala, while updating on the current political situation in Nepal, expressed his appreciation for the UN’s support to the peace process of Nepal. He said that the political process was moving positively, and underscored the importance of constitution-writing to consolidate peace, democracy and political stability. He also said that the major political parties of Nepal were committed to promulgate a new democratic constitution soon.
The Secretary-General appreciated the leadership of Koirala in the ongoing political efforts in constitution drafting, highlighted the importance of reaching out in such a process and expressed his interest about a timeline for the promulgation of a new constitution.
The Prime Minister said that the political parties in Nepal were serious about making progress, and expressed his confidence that the new democratic constitution would be ready within the stipulated time of January 2015.
Likewise, Prime Minister Koirala thanked Ban for his support and extended an invitation to visit Nepal at his convenience.
