Transform urgency into action: Pascoe

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KATHMANDU, Oct 15: The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe has called on the political parties to take early decisions to bring the peace process to a successful conclusion.

During his briefing to the United Nations Security Council in New York on October 14, Pascoe said, “There is no doubt that the 15 January deadline for UNMIN’s withdrawal has created a new sense of urgency among the parties, and more focused thinking on how to end the prolonged stasis is taking place.”

Pascoe visited Nepal on October 6 and 7 on behalf of the Secretary-General and held extensive consultations with key stakeholders in the peace process as part of the preparations to brief the Security Council, which had requested the report on progress in the implementation of the Four-Point Agreement of 13 September between the Government of Nepal and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M). In the same resolution, the Council explicitly stated that UNMIN’s mandate would terminate on 15 January.

“It is still possible for the parties to meet their targets in time but, as I stressed to all those I met during my visit, it will require translating this new-found sense of urgency into decision-making and concrete action,” he said.

The Under-Secretary-General said that despite recent progress and important steps in the peace process, a political impasse remains and no breakthrough has been achieved. “If the parties fail to manage their differences in order to complete this common agenda, it is they and the people of Nepal that stand to lose,” Pascoe said.
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According to a press release issued by UNMIN here today, the progress Pascoe highlighted included the formation of a Secretariat to support the Special Committee, but he stressed that essential political decisions on integration and rehabilitation still have to be made. “I advised the parties to give priority to integrating and rehabilitating the combatants which would permit the closure of the cantonments,” he said.

Pascoe stressed that “dialogue continues across Nepal´s political fault lines,” adding that many of his interlocutors in Nepal told him that a political breakthrough was possible in early November, after the end of the current holiday period in Nepal. “We also believe this is possible if the parties exhibit the necessary flexibility and will,” he said.

“Progress on forming a consensus government or on the substantive issues related to integration and rehabilitation could provide the critical momentum for a breakthrough,” Pascoe added.

The Under-Secretary-General said that during the time remaining, UNMIN’s priority will continue to be working with the parties to ensure its smooth withdrawal, adding that the UN would follow closely developments on the ground. Pascoe added that the UN’s engagement with Nepal would continue after UNMIN’s withdrawal.