Reconstruction, economic agendas should be top priority: Gautam

June 24, 2006
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Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Kul Chandra Gautam.
(Photo source : kulgautam.org)

Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Kul Chandra Gautam has said that with the start of peace process in Nepal, economic and development agendas should get main priority along with the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programs to meet the growing aspirations of the people.

“A characteristic of Nepal and South Asia in general – in contrast to Southeast Asia – is that we are so obsessed with politics, that the economic agenda is left as an afterthought,” Gautam said delivering his keynote speech at a talk programme “Reconstruction of Post-Conflict Nepal: How the International Community can Help” organised by Nepal Council of World Affairs in Kathmandu on Friday.

Gautam said neither the 12-point understanding nor the 25-point code of conduct, nor the 8-point statement, offer any specifics on improving the people’s livelihood. He cautioned that very soon the “exhilaration of political revolution will wear off and people will be looking for the fruits of peace and democracy in terms of improved livelihood and basic services”.

He pointed out that, as in other post-conflict societies, two types of insecurity are likely to pose greatest challenge for peace and development in Nepal: First, the insecurity caused by remnants of armed groups, proliferation of small arms and poorly managed disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process which leads to resurgence of conflict and criminality even after successful peace settlement and, second, insecurity caused by human deprivation and lack of basic services.

Saying that the international community, including the UN, could play crucial role in both these areas in Nepal by means of financial and technical support, Gautam noted that the efforts of the international community in resolving Nepal’s conflict, which is entirely homegrown unlike in many other conflict-hit countries, has largely been ineffective.

“Indeed at the height of the people’s movement the international community, including the Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions seriously misjudged the popular mood and people’s movement,” he observed, adding, “Unlike most other donor-driven and expert-led reconstruction and development plans, Nepal needs to reflect the democratic and participatory aspiration of its people by involving them in designing reconstruction and development plans.”

Gautam, who works as the Deputy Executive Director of the UNICEF at the UN Headquarters in New York, suggested six key components for the post-conflict reconstruction and development plan for Nepal: (1) massive expansion of basic social services (2) disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (3) local development activities, through bloc grants (4) targeted programs for disparity reduction (5) upgrading of physical infrastructure, and (6) creating a conducive environment for investment by the private sector, NRNs and FDI (foreign direct investment).

The number of armed forces, according to him, could be downsized and the Nepali Army (NA) and the Maoist People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could also be demobilised for development activities and the military expenses that is saved could be channeled to the development sector.

On the issue of merging of the NA and the PLA, the UN Assistant Secretary General said it would be very tricky and would pose a number of challenges.

“Managing the Maoist PLA poses a particular challenge. The Maoist proposal to merge the PLA and the NA would seen to be problematic on two counts,” he said, “First, It would seem objectionable to have an ideologically indoctrinated contingent loyal to one political party becoming part of a national army. Second, at a time when we are trying to downsize the army, expanding it by adding contingents seems illogical.”

He added, “Nevertheless, since we have the reality of the existence of the Maoist PLA and there is a need to accommodate them as part of the peace process, peaceful, creative solutions should be found, especially if the Maoists renounce armed conflict as a legitimate method for bringing political change in democracy.”