Gautam appointed PM's special advisor

KATHMANDU, July 31: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has appointed Kul Chandra Gautam, Nepal´s nominee for the presidency of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), as his special advisor on international affairs and peace process.

“He has been appointed to the post recently as he has been advising the prime minister for a long time,” said a source at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on condition of anonymity.

A former deputy executive director of UNICEF and Assistant Under Secretary General of the UN, Gautam has been advising Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on matters related to international affairs and the peace process since Nepal became prime minister in May 2009, said the source.

"In the terms of reference given to Gautam, the prime minister has acknowledged Gautam´s advisory role," said the source.

With the appointment of Gautam as special advisor to the prime minister, Nepal is now prepared to launch a full-fledged campaign to garner support for Gautam´s candidacy for the president of UNGA.

To that end, the prime minister on Friday directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to call Nepali Ambassador to the UN Gyan Chandra Acharya to come to Nepal to formulate lobbying strategy for Gautam´s candidacy, said the source.

The government nominated Gautam for the presidency of the UNGA as he has the required credentials.

After his retirement from the UN, Gautam has been actively involved in informally advising Nepal´s senior political civil society leadership on issues related to peace process, strengthening of democracy and socio-economic development. He also leads a Rollback Violence campaign.

“Now we are going to begin a campaign officially,” said an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Besides Nepal, Qatar is also vying for the post. The West Asian country has nominated its incumbent UN ambassador for the presidency of the UNGA.

But before kickstarting the campaign, Nepal will wait for the meeting of the Asia Group, an alliance of Asian countries at the UN.

Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) say the meeting scheduled for the first week of August is discussing the candidacy of Nepal and Qatar for presidency of the UNGA.

“We are waiting for the meeting of the Asia Group at the UN before starting a full-fledged campaign for the election of Gautam,” said a MoFA official on condition of anonymity.

MoFA officials are hoping that Qatar will withdraw its candidacy during the meeting that is expected to ask both Nepal and Qatar to reach consensus. Generally, UNGA presidency is elected unanimously.

Nepal and Qatar have filed nominations for presidency as it is the turn of Asia to head the UNGA from September 2011-2012 September. Nepal had decided to present its candidature for presidency of the UNGA in 2000. Qatar announced its candidacy two year after. This is the first time Nepal has filed its candidacy for the post.

UNGA presidency rotates among five geographic groups -- African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American and Carribean and Western European and other states.

UN watchers say that Nepal has high prospect of winning the presidency on five main grounds.

First, Nepal is deeply involved in the UN since it became member of the global body in 1955, 16 year before Qatar was awarded UN membership.

Second, after seven years of joining the UN, Nepal was elected unanimously to head an official inquiry into the death of Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjold, the second Secretary General of the UN.

Third, Nepal´s contribution to the UN peacekeeping has earned global recognition. Nepal is one of the largest troop contributing countries to the UN.

Fourth, Qatar comes from the region from where last Asian president of the UNGA was elected. Bahrain was elected president of the UNGA during Asia´s turn in 2006. As South Asia had its last UNGA president in 1986, Nepal has justified claim for the presidency this time, argues an MoFA official working at the UN Section.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have already headed the UNGA presidency.

Besides, Nepal is currently the head of the Least Developed Countries and will use this forum to garner support for Gautam´s candidacy.

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=21658