The UNSC made the call after a closed-door meeting of the 15-member body where Under Secretary General for Political Affairs B Lynn Pascoe briefed about political developments in Nepal, according to the UN news center. [break]
Pascoe told the council that he had found greater sense of urgency and willingness among leaders in Nepal to compromise, but no concrete results have emerged from their readiness to engage.
According to the press statement read out by Susan Rice, the United States Ambassador to the UN and the President of the 15-member body for December, Pascoe said he had stressed on the need for leaders to make major decisions, including the establishment of effective arrangement to avoid vacuum when UNMIN leaves and to ensure smooth transition.
The mandate of the UNMIN, which the UNSC set up in 2007, a year after the government and the Maoist signed the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) to end the decade-long Maoist conflict is expiring on January 15, 2011. Under Secretary Pascoe arrived in Kathmandu last week to get first hand information about progress made in the peace process and constitution drafting process.
In September, the government and the Maoists reached a four-point agreement on completing the remaining tasks of the peace process by 14 January, 2011.
Among other things, the agreement called for Maoist combatants to be brought under the Special Committee set up to address supervision, integration and rehabilitation of the former fighters.
After the briefing of Pasco in October following his visit to Nepal, UNSC had underlined the importance of implementing a clear work plan, including timelines, benchmarks and arrangements for managing any residual tasks after the expiry of UNMIN term.
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