UN officials seek authorization for new Nepal mission

Reuter reports UN officials seek Security Council authorization on Thursday for a new mission in Nepal that includes 186 military monitors to help enforce a peace pact between the government and Maoist rebels.

The council last month approved an advance group of 35 monitors in response to formal requests from both sides that the United Nations intervene immediately to monitor disarmament of the rebels and make sure the army stays in their barracks.

The Nepalese clamored for United Nations intervention, according to Ian Martin, the special UN representative for Nepal. “Seventy percent of the population wanted a UN role in the peace process and it gives us real leverage with both sides,” he said.

The new UN operation, which the Security Council is being asked to approve, is called the UN Mission in Nepal and is to be established for a year at the outset. One task of the human rights monitors is to promote a criminal justice system that is accessible to all, including the Dalits, women, survivors of sexual violence and the rural poor, according to a report from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon prepared for the council.