No End in Sight


Written by Huma Iqbal • Region • January 2011

The peace process that Nepal entered five years ago, ending a decade-long Maoist insurgency, is heading towards a crucial phase. The mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is scheduled to end on January 15, 2011, leaving behind a sense of crisis in the public which is already wary of power-wrangling politicians in the country.

From the inability to reach a consensus for drafting a new constitution to resolving the issues of rehabilitation and reintegration of former Maoist combatants, resentment against the government is growing amongst the masses censuring politicians for their indifference to commitments they themselves made at the start of the peace process.

As the time to wrap up the mission is nearing, B Lynn Pascoe, UN under secretary general for political affairs is hopeful that the leaders will move “very quickly” to resolve the issues of power-sharing and has stressed time and again that the “United Nations is not abandoning Nepal just because UNMIN is leaving.”

While signing a peace agreement with the major political parties in 2006 and ending the civil war in the country, the Maoists insisted on the UN being part of the peace process, and from 2007 the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) began to monitor their People’s Liberation Army (PLA), with a temporary mandate to monitor the Maoist and national armies and assist with the peace process.

After the parties and the Maoists failed to work together to disband the PLA and rehabilitate its nearly 20,000 guerrillas within six months of signing the peace agreement, the UNMIN was given several extensions by the UN Security Council.

However, during its four years of assignment, beginning January 2007, UNMIN often faced criticism of being too lenient towards the Maoists. UN, on the other hand often expressed frustration at the political deadlock in the country which it alleged to have slowed the pace of progress. UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, in his report to the Security Council last year reported: “Its [UNMIN] seeming indefinite presence may be taken for granted and the mission is repeatedly made a scapegoat for matters which lie beyond its mandate.”

International observers on the other hand are also critical of the political deadlock in the country. They criticize absence of any government since June 30, when Madhav Kumar Nepal stood down as prime minister, under pressure from the opposition Maoist party. After 16 attempts, the parliament has still not been able to choose a successor.

This political impasse is also said to be hampering the solution to the urgent problems that Nepal faces today which if not addressed soon can lead to grave consequences in the region. The most urgent amongst these is the reintegration of some 19,000 Maoist combatants, sheltered in various camps across the country. These combatants include child soldiers as well as women who are said to be the most vulnerable to the entire process.

The international community has also been visibly surprised over the lack of seriousness among the parties in power, as well as in the opposition, over the looming chaos and disorder. In November last, a U.S. $4.5 billion national budget was finally passed through presidential ordinance, following a four-month delay. Maoist members of the assembly physically assaulted Finance Minister Surendra Pandey as he presented a hurriedly prepared provisional budget to the assembly.

Nepal’s immediate neighbors, India and China, too appear wary of consequences of an unstable Nepal. While New Delhi says it feels the Maoists are not serious about the peace process, many members of the constituent assembly of Nepal are also doubtful about the entire peace process, labeling it as a mere game which is rapidly losing its relevance and legitimacy.

While the Nepali people helplessly watch their leaders push the country towards the precipice, the wrapping up of the peace mission brings no good news for this country of 30 million.