|
 |
Nepal and UN
Nepal and the United Nations (1955-2006)
Nepal-UN Relations
Since her joining the United Nations on 14 December 1955, Nepal has reposed her abiding faith in the principles and purposes enshrined in the UN Charter. Nepal attaches great importance to the centrality of the United Nations in the multilateral affairs, especially in the maintenance of international peace and security and in promoting international cooperation for the economic and social development. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990 states that the UN Charter shall be one of the five guiding principles of Nepalese foreign policy.
Nepal firmly believes that UN should play a central role in addressing the emerging issues of 21st century such as increasing threat of terrorism, disarmament, human rights, sustainable development, and poverty alleviation besides its primary responsibility of promoting collective security.
Peace and Security
Promotion of international peace and security assumes paramount importance of the United Nations. Nepal has been consistently supporting the UN efforts in the maintenance of international peace and security through her continuous participation in the UN Peacekeeping operations since 1958. Nepalese peacekeepers have won applauses for their sterling performances while keeping peace in difficult conflict zones around the world. So far Nepal has deployed 50,167 troops in various peacekeeping missions under the aegis of the United Nations. About 50 security personnel have laid down their lives in line of duty for the service of the humanity. As of February 2006, Nepal's contribution remains at a strength of 3,485 personnel in 12 peacekeeping operations, despite our own difficult security situation at home.
Terrorism
Of late, the world has experienced increasing menace of terrorism. The escalation of grisly terrorist attacks worldwide has brought home the grim reality that terrorism knows no geographical boundaries and basic human values. Nepal unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. As a nation fighting the scourge of terrorism committed by the Maoists for over a decade, Nepal stresses the need for concerted international response to terrorism through enhanced level of coordination, cooperation and support.Nepal supports international efforts to convene an international conference to formulate a joint response of the international community to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Nepal also seeks special considerations of the needs to the countries affected by terrorism.
Disarmament
Nepal stands for general and complete disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction including nuclear, chemical, and biological and others. As a party to Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and signatory to Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Nepal supports the nuclear weapons free zones wherever they are established. Nepal has also supported the confidence building measures through the establishment of regional centres for peace and disarmament in different parts of the world.
In this regard, Nepal has offered to host the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, which was established in 1989 and has been functioning from New York. HMG has expressed its reaffirmation to relocate the Centre from New York to Kathmandu as soon as possible through the signing of host country agreement with the UN.
Human Rights
Nepal is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments to which Nepal is a party. Nepal holds the view that all human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and as such they all deserve equal emphasis.
As a party to 16 human rights instruments and signatory to three others, His Majesty's Government announced its reaffirmation on the implementation of human rights and international humanitarian law on 26 March 2004. Constituted under the Paris Principles as an independent and statutory body, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is empowered to monitor and investigate human rights situation in the country. In April 2005, His Majesty's Government signed an agreement with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for the establishment of the High Commissioner's Office in Nepal. OHCHR-Nepal has already commenced its operations.
A three-year national human rights action plan is under implementation. Human Rights Cells have been established in all the security agencies. Security personnel mobilized to maintain peace and security in the country are well sensitized to protect human rights while fighting terrorism.
Nepal has always cooperated with the Commission on Human Rights special procedures mandate holders and has, in principle, extended open invitations to them to visit Nepal. In this context, Ms. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, paid a visit to Nepal in January 2005. A team consisting of the Chairman of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) Prof. Stephen J. Toope visited Nepal from 6-14 December 2004. Prof. Walter Kaelin, UN Secretary General's Representative on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Mr. Dennis McNamara, Director, UN's Internal Displacement Division visited Nepal in April 2005. The Special Rapporteur on Torture Mr. Manfred Nowak visited Nepal in September 2005.
The human rights situation in the country has been seriously undermined by ongoing violence perpetrated by the terrorists, including indiscriminate killings, maiming and abduction of innocent civilians, kidnapping and forceful recruitment of children as child soldiers and extortion and intimidation to the civilian population. After the decisive steps taken by His Majesty the King on 1 February 2005, peace, stability and security situation in the country has been significantly improved and the confidence of the citizens for their lives and security has been considerably enhanced.
Development Issues
Nepal attaches high priority to the implementation of Millennium Declaration especially relating to halving of the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and special needs of the least developed countries. Nepal has underlined the need to redouble the international efforts to realize these goals by effective implementation of internationally agreed programme of actions. Nepal articulates in regional and international forums the development challenges of fragile and vulnerable countries with special challenges emanating from natural disasters and conflict.
North-South Dialogue and South-South Cooperation
Nepal is always supportive of the idea that there should be mutual cooperation as well as mutual understanding on international issues between the North and South. We have always upheld the view that North should enhance its financial and technical assistance to the South, in order to alleviate their difficulties. Nepal has emphasized the need for increasing South-South cooperation. Nepal reiterates that South-South cooperation should be promoted through the sharing of development experience, transfer of technology and exploiting latent synergies and complementarities among Non-Aligned countries. Nepal also urges the developed countries to fulfill their commitment of providing 0.15 -0.20 of ODA to the least developed countries as reaffirmed in the Brussels Programme of Action adopted at the Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, 2001.
International Trade and Debt Relief Measures
Nepal has followed the policies of economic liberalization, privatization and deregulation of her economy. Nepal is the first LDC to accede to the WTO in April 2004. WTO membership has provided Nepal with the opportunities to integrate its economy in global economic system for greater export potentials. The immediate challenge for a country like ours is how to make our products more competitive. Nepal, therefore, calls for supportive measures for the marginalized countries, including debt relief measures; increased ODA and duty free and quota free access for the products of LDC's.
Nepal supports that the new global trading regime must be a rule based giving equitable benefits to the developed and developing countries alike. In view of the ever increasing debt-burden of the LDCs and LLDCs, Nepal calls for its easing and where possible to writing-off such debts. Nepal supports the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiatives and believes that this initiative should be extended to the LDC's as well. Nepal also notes with concern the continuing decline of ODA and urges the developed countries to fulfill the agreed target of 0.7% of GNP as ODA to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.2. % to LDC's.
Least Developed Countries
Nepal participated in all three Conferences on the Least Developed Countries (Paris, 1981 and 1991, and Brussels, 2001) and urged for the effective partnership between LDCs and their development partners in order to achieve the goals set by the Millennium Summit for development and poverty reduction. Nepal has also taken the position that debt burden of the LDCs should be written off; the commitments of donors to allocate 0.15 - 0.20 percent of GNP as ODA to LDCs should be fulfilled; and the duty-free and quota free access be given to the markets of the developed countries for the exports of LDCs. Nepal supports the Brussels Programme of Action on LDCs, which has urged the development partners to provide LDCs with more aid, wider debt relief and improved market access.
Environmental Issues
Nepal participated in the World Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and in the Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in September 2002. Nepal is committed to implementing the strategy for sustainable development focusing on poverty alleviation and believes that the burden of protecting the world's environment should be shared equitably between the developed and the developing countries and that there should be flow of resources commensurate with the consumption and production patterns. Nepal has formulated and implemented Poverty alleviation and Sustainable Development Strategy with a view to protecting the environment while carrying out development activities. Nepal deposited the Instrument of Accession on 16 September 2005 on the sidelines of the 60th UN General Assembly, and became a party to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change.
UN Reforms and Restructuring
Nepal supports the ongoing efforts of the international community to introduce timely reforms and necessary restructuring through preserving and promoting the centrality and sanctity of the principles and purposes enshrined in the UN Charter. The reform plan should give more emphasis on strengthening the role of the UN in promoting international cooperation for the economic and social development of the Member States, particularly the developing countries. Nepal supports the need of reforming and restructuring the UN in view of the increase in total membership of the UN to 191 at present from 51 members in 1945. Nepal supports the measures for revitalizing the work of the UN General Assembly.
Security Council: Nepal believes that there is a need to reform the Security Council and it should be done on the basis of equal geographical distribution while giving priority to enhancing the number of representation of the developing countries in the Security Council. Nepal also supports measures to improving the Security Council's working method, to increasing efficiency and transparency of its work and ensuring acceptance of opinions and views from those countries, which are not members of the Security Council. As the reform of the Security Council involves vital stakes of all member states, extensive and intensive deliberations are required.
General Assembly: Nepal has consistently maintained that the UN General Assembly, as the UN's principal deliberative body needs to be further strengthened. While Nepal supports the proposal on the working methods of the Assembly by streamlining the agenda, it should not compromise its key role as a policy-making and decision-making organ of the UN.
Economic and Social Council: Nepal attaches great importance to the Council as a principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue on the issues of economic and social development and stands strengthening the Council for the effective implementation of the UN's development agenda, including the MDGs.
Human Rights Council: As a party to major human rights instruments, Nepal is committed to its international obligations on human rights. It is our firm belief that all human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and as such they all deserve equal emphasis. Nepal played a supportive role to the establishment of a Human Rights Council for the progressive enjoyment of human rights by all. We firmly hold the view that the mechanism of the Council should be representative and inclusive to represent the various geographic regions and to accommodate the genuine concerns of developing countries. It should be working in a way to overcome criticisms and difficulties faced by the earstwhile Human Rights Commission.
The main objective of the Human Rights Council is to serve as the UN forum for a dialogue and cooperation on human rights. A subsidiary body of the General Assembly, it consists of 47 UN members to be elected by the GA by absolute majority. Among the members 13 are to be selected from the Asian region. The membership is subject to the Council's new universal review mechanism during the term of membership. As a permanent body based in Geneva, the Council will hold at least 3 sessions a year.
Peacebuilding Commission: Nepal has been working with the UN in the maintenance of international peace and security through her continuous participation in the UN Peacekeeping operations since 1958. Nepal supported the General Assembly's decision to create an inter-governmental Peacebuilding Commission, which could significantly contribute to the UN efforts for sustained recovery and institutions building in the countries emerging from conflict. The Commission aims at post-conflict recovery in countries emerging from conflict by assembling international resources to devise integrated strategies. The Organizational Committee of the Commission is widely representative as it comprises, in addition to SC permanent members, 5 top financial contributors, 5 top troop contributing countries and the countries experiencing post-conflict recovery.
As one of the top 10 troops contributing countries in the UN peace keeping missions, Nepal feels that the membership of the Commission should have equitable geographical distribution and balanced representation among the troops contributing countries.
Landmark Events
Nepal obtained the membership of the United Nations on 14 December 1955 at the 10th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Nepal's First Delegation to the United Nations was led by the then Foreign Minister Mr. Chuda Prasad Sharma in 1956, who addressed the Eleventh United Nations General Assembly in 1956 after becoming the member of the Organization.
Nepal had the singular privilege to lead the Commission of Investigation into the Conditions and Circumstances resulting in the tragic death of the then Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Dag Hammarskjold and of Members of the Party accompanying him, who were killed in a Plane Crash at Ndola in Lusaka in 1961. H.E. Mr. Rishikesh Shahaa the then Leader of the Nepalese Delegation to the 16th Session of the UN General Assembly, was entrusted to take this onerous responsibility.
His Late Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah led the Nepalese Delegation to the Twenty-Second Session of the UN General Assembly in 1967. His Late Majesty the King addressed the 22nd Plenary Meeting of the UNGA on 6 November 1967.
The Nepalese delegations to the UN have been led many times by the Head of the Government. Prime Ministers Mr. Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Girija Prasad Koirala addressed the United Nations General Assemblies in 1960, 1993 and 2000, 1995 and 1999 respectively.
The Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Ramesh Nath Pande led the Nepalese Delegation to the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly in September this year.
Nepal served as a member of the Special Committee on the South African Government's Policies of Apartheid (Popularly known as Anti-Apartheid Committee) since 1962 till Nepal was elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee in 1969. The then Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Nepal to the United Nations continued to contribute as the Vice-Chairman of the Committee till its dissolution in 1994 following the dismantling of apartheid regime in South Africa and installation of popularly elected President Mr. Nelson Mandela.
Candidature for the UN Security Council: Nepal was twice elected as non-permanent member of the powerful UN Security Council during 1969-70 and 1988-89. Nepal has again presented her candidature to the non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2007-08.
Visits of the UN Secretary Generals: Mr. U Thant, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, Mr. Javier Perez de Cueller and Mr. Kofi Annan visited Nepal as Secretaries-General of the United Nations during their stints at the United Nations. Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General of the United Nations, visited Nepal from 10 to 15 July 2005.
Back to Nepal and UN
|
|
|
