Ian Martin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Nepal
Press Conference 6 November 2007, Kathmandu
Sam Taylor, AFP: Mr Martin, it's a bit difficult, I am still digesting your statement. When you talk about expanding of the mandate, first you talk about support to the implementation to the peace process. Can you explain in concrete terms what you mean about that support, what would that, could that be?
Ian Martin: There are a number of peace processes where there is implementation machinery defined which the United Nations participates in or supports. Indeed here in Nepal we were asked to be members of a broader advisory committee around the Peace Ministry. But many of the elements of agreements that have been reached, for example, the establishment of a high level monitoring committee, which we have always regarded as of great importance and were indeed asked in principle to assist; the establishment of a credible commission to investigate disappearances, which again has been repeatedly agreed but yet to be implemented in practice: these are among the kind of measures where I believe we could be of greater assistance to the parties in the follow-through on agreements that have been reached, sometimes more than once.
Sam Taylor, AFP: But how Mr. Martin - what form will that assistance take? Experts, UN people going in to assist or set up these things? What concrete things?
Ian Martin: Well, it could mean a continuing relationship with whatever body, the Peace Ministry or other implementation machinery that's agreed, as well as indeed bringing in international experience where it is helpful to defining how to implement particular commitments.
Kumar Lamichhane Nepal 1 TV: Your statement mentions that "The expectation among Nepalese are high as to what UNMIN can do". Are you indicating that Nepalese people are expecting much more of a role and mandate to be given to UNMIN, and are you indicating this thing in case the Terai rebel group which has also asked UNMIN to play role while negotiating with the Government?
Ian Martin: That reference wasn't intended to be a reference to the Terai situation. It was rather a general reference to the fact that Nepalis see here what looks like a rather large United Nations presence and one that has increasingly reached the regions and, through our District Electoral Advisers and Arms Monitors, the districts of Nepal. They are very concerned about a peace process that they see faltering perhaps, in a number of respects. And they assume that it should be the role of the United Nations to help keep that process on track.
And we find ourselves having to explain to them, through you, that our role has essentially been asked to focus on arms monitoring, extremely important to sustaining the peace process but nonetheless only one aspect of it; electoral support, but it's not the technical preparations for the election that has meant this further postponement; assistance in monitoring, but there what we have been able to do is being limited by the absence of an effective national monitoring of peace process commitments, such as was always intended. And, naturally, I think, many ordinary Nepalis who don't understand the limitations of the mandate that was given to UNMIN expect that we should in some way be able to support the process more broadly.
Now I have stressed again that this will always remain a Nepalese process and any assistance the United Nations offers can only be at the request of the Government and the parties to the process. But we do think, without in any way envisaging a larger mission, that perhaps there are ways in which we could be more active in support to the process if that is desired.
Devendra Bhattarai, Kantipur: You have mentioned one thing here, "this would not mean a bigger UNMIN presence, we are already reducing our electoral staff". But according to some of the sources most of the district electoral officers are being reinstated despite the fact that everybody is talking about downsizing UNMIN. Can I get the numbers of those electoral officers?
Ian Martin: We can give you the numbers afterwards. I can't give them to you off the top of my head. But it is indeed true that, not wanting to cut back people's quite limited contracts, many of which expire in December, we have temporarily re-deployed some of the staff who were here as District Electoral Advisers. So, the downsizing is in process. But it is not their re-deployment as District Electoral Advisers, that would be something to consider whatever the appropriate period was ahead of a new election date.