-By Sir Jeffrey James
This is another in the series of visits since my appointment nearly two years ago. Just to recap—my role is to help coordinate, at the London end, British government support for peace, stability and development in Nepal, and to help strengthen our consultation and coordination with Nepal’s other international partners.
As on previous visit, I have met the Prime Minister and a wide range of representatives from the government, the political parties, civil society, and the international community.
It is acutely disappointing that the conflict continues unabated, bringing suffering and a hardship across the country, as well as damage to economy and to the livelihoods of the Nepalese people. We continue to believe that there can be no acceptable military solution to the conflict. The only sure way to a lasting peace is through negotiations conducted with good faith and willingness to succeed.
This underlines the urgent need to initiate and sustain an effective peace process. We welcome the government’s willingness to enter into negotiations without preconditions.
We call upon the Maoists to respond constructively and to seize the opportunity for peace. We recognize the complexity of the situation, but also the need for compromise and accommodation on all sides. The status quo is not an option. But the overall objective should be a settlement based on multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy, which allows free and fair elections to the national parliament and other representative institutions. This requires all parties to renounce violence, but it would also give all parties the right to form a government, or participate in government, if successful in elections. We believe that with trust and goodwill, it should be possible to forge agreement on this basis.
In the meantime, it is essential to maintain the democratic framework, including a broad based, multi-party government. It is also essential, in the face of the Maoist threat to democracy, to uphold the rule of law, and to maintain democratic space and freedoms. The role of a free media and civil society remains as important as ever. There is a clear need for all the constitutional forces to work together, within a democratic framework, to bring about peace and the full restoration of parliamentary democratic institutions. The country cannot continue indefinitely without a functioning parliament.
Given the worsening conflict, respect for human rights becomes even more necessary. We underline once more the responsibility of the government and the security forces to exercise their powers in full compliance with domestic and international law. There is still serious concern at the evidence of widespread violations by the security forces, including extra-judicial killings, illegal detention, disappearances, abuse of prisoners, and failure to observe due process of law. We acknowledge and welcome measures taken to counter such abuse, but much more remains to be done. The agreement with UN OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights) to strengthen the role of the National Human Rights Commission in monitoring and investigating violations is a valuable step forward and we look forward to full cooperation from the government and security forces in its implementation. Cooperation too with UN organization and procedures will help the government to meet its obligations.
We also condemn the continuing brutality and violence by the Maoists, which include murder, terrorist attacks, the use of child combatants, abduction, extortion and forced migration. Recent events at Dailekh and elsewhere have shown the revulsion of ordinary people affected by Maoist violence. We call upon the Maoist leadership and their cadres to prevent such abuse, and to abide by accepted international standards.
The overall situation highlights once more the potential value of a Human Rights Accord, to which both sides should subscribe, as a means to establish greater accountability and respect for human rights norms.
Together with other members of the international community, the UK continues to provide assistance to poor and vulnerable people throughout the country. Our emphasis is on support that has immediate impact by, for example, giving wage earning opportunities to the poorest members of rural communities and improving their access to essential services such as clean water. This vital work needs to continue without hindrance in order to help prevent a humanitarian crisis.
As usual, it seems, Nepal faces difficult and critical months ahead. Nonetheless, we still believe that the opportunity exists to make real progress towards resolution of the conflict, provided all sides are prepared to forge a basis for negotiations. For its part, Britain remains committed to encourage an support the pursuit of a peaceful and democratic outcome, as well as development and reform.
(Full text of the statement delivered by Sir Jeffrey James, UK special representative for Nepal, in Kathmandu on Dec. 13, 2004)