![[Nepal] Ian Martin, chief of UN rights monitoring in Nepal.](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/2005510.jpg.webp?itok=oPCBTsAv "Newly appointed personal respresentative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Ian Martin")
The United Nations (UN) will play a more active role in the peace process in Nepal, Ian Martin, the newly appointed personal representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, said on Tuesday.
The Maoists, who had waged a decade-long armed rebellion, and the seven-party interim government have spent the past four months working together to permanently end the conflict that left more than 13,000 dead. A ceasefire was declared in April after the two sides led a mass uprising to end the direct rule of King Gyanendra.
Government officials said most of the Maoists' demands had been agreed, the key issues being the passing of an interim constitution, formation of a new interim government that would include the Maoists and elections to the Constituent Assembly. The assembly was regarded as the body needed to frame the new constitution and pave the way for democracy.
In July, the sides sent a joint letter to the UN appealing for its active help in the peace process.
Martin, speaking from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, confirmed that the UN had responded to the pledge with his appointment to actively coordinate its role in the process.
“This is a heavy responsibility, but I am encouraged by the welcomes expressed on behalf of the government and the Maoists, as well as by friends in civil society,” he said.
Martin is much respected in Nepal and internationally after heading the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the country. He pushed strongly for human rights abuses by the royal regime against peaceful demonstrators to be recognised.
Human rights activists said his presence during the peace process would become crucial.
Local media and citizen groups demanded Martin's return after he was temporarily made the Secretary General's special envoy to Timor-Leste. They criticised the UN's decision to send him away during the peace process.
Martin said he would work closely with the government and Maoists to provide the UN assistance they needed.
He would lead a small team of advisers to coordinate the UN's help in monitoring the ceasefire’s code of conduct, management of arms and armed personnel of both sides and the election of the assembly.
“But the role of the UN is just to support a peace process which has been demanded and led by Nepalese,” Martin said.
NN/GS/DS
The Maoists, who had waged a decade-long armed rebellion, and the seven-party interim government have spent the past four months working together to permanently end the conflict that left more than 13,000 dead. A ceasefire was declared in April after the two sides led a mass uprising to end the direct rule of King Gyanendra.
Government officials said most of the Maoists' demands had been agreed, the key issues being the passing of an interim constitution, formation of a new interim government that would include the Maoists and elections to the Constituent Assembly. The assembly was regarded as the body needed to frame the new constitution and pave the way for democracy.
In July, the sides sent a joint letter to the UN appealing for its active help in the peace process.
Martin, speaking from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, confirmed that the UN had responded to the pledge with his appointment to actively coordinate its role in the process.
“This is a heavy responsibility, but I am encouraged by the welcomes expressed on behalf of the government and the Maoists, as well as by friends in civil society,” he said.
Martin is much respected in Nepal and internationally after heading the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the country. He pushed strongly for human rights abuses by the royal regime against peaceful demonstrators to be recognised.
Human rights activists said his presence during the peace process would become crucial.
Local media and citizen groups demanded Martin's return after he was temporarily made the Secretary General's special envoy to Timor-Leste. They criticised the UN's decision to send him away during the peace process.
Martin said he would work closely with the government and Maoists to provide the UN assistance they needed.
He would lead a small team of advisers to coordinate the UN's help in monitoring the ceasefire’s code of conduct, management of arms and armed personnel of both sides and the election of the assembly.
“But the role of the UN is just to support a peace process which has been demanded and led by Nepalese,” Martin said.
NN/GS/DS
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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