Following the key agreement reached between the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) government and the Maoists on November 8, the United Nations has expressed its readiness to respond promptly to the needs for UN’s help pointed out in the agreement.

Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan, on Wednesday, called on all sides in Nepal to “maintain the momentum of the peace process.”

“The Secretary-General heartily welcomes the agreement reached yesterday between the Seven-Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). This agreement offers the people of Nepal a historic opportunity to end the armed conflict in their country, and to build sustainable peace within an inclusive and democratic state,” Annan said in a statement attributable to his spokesman.

“The United Nations has been asked to help in key areas of the peace process. The Secretary-General intends to respond promptly, while emphasizing that both sides must maintain the momentum of the peace process by fully carrying out the commitments they have made,” Annan is quoted as saying by the UN news website.

In the agreement, the government and the Maoists have vowed to sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement on November 16, following which the Maoist army would be sent to cantonments on November 21. The two sides have also agreed that seven big cantonments will be set up each in Kailali, Surkhet, Rolpa, Palpa, Ilam, Kavre and Sindhuli districts; the arms of the Maoist army will be separated and put under single lock system; its key given to Maoists and the cantonments will be monitored by the United Nations through Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and siren alarm, which will be set off if there is any unauthorized tampering of the lock. Similar quantity of arms of Nepali Army (NA) would also be put under single lock system and the UN has been asked to monitor them as well.

In August, the Nepal Government and the Communist Party (Maoist) sent letters requesting UN help in areas ranging from human rights monitoring to electoral observation. This move followed a 10-day UN assessment mission to the country, during which time the Maoists also announced they were extending a three-month ceasefire.

Annan has appointed Ian Martin as his Personal Representative in Nepal for Support to the Peace Process, to spearhead the UN efforts.