I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 1879 (2009), by which the Council, following the request of the Government of Nepal and the recommendation of the Secretary-General, renewed the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) until 23 January 2010. UNMIN was established as a special political mission in 2007 and its mandate included the monitoring of the management of arms and armed personnel of the Nepal Army and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M), which is now the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M).
2. The report reviews the progress of the peace process and the implementation of the mandate of UNMIN since my report to the Security Council of 26 October 2009 (S/2009/553).
II. Progress of the peace process
3. The peace process remained largely stalled during the reporting period. The tensions, deep differences and mistrust among the parties which I highlighted in my last report have persisted. While the major political parties maintained some level of dialogue and communication, no agreement has so far been reached on critical issues, including integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel, democratization of the Nepal Army and the scope of presidential authority. The proposed high-level political mechanism to serve as a dedicated forum for multiparty dialogue on key peace process issues has not been established. UCPN-M continued its series of nationwide protests calling for what it terms "civilian supremacy" over the Nepal Army, a demand that has its roots in the President's reversal, in May 2009, of the dismissal of the Chief of Army Staff by the then Maoist-led Government, following which the Government resigned.