KATHMANDU, NOV 20 - On the third anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), fourteen heads of missions in Nepal expressed serious concern over the stalled peace process even as they welcomed the steps Nepal has taken towards achie-ving permanent peace.

“We are increasingly concerned that progress on implementing the agreement has stalled,” said the statement issued by the heads of missions here on Friday. “We urge all the political parties to continue to abide by both the letter and spirit of the CPA and to rededicate themselves to delivering the commitments they made to the people of Nepal.”

The diplomats observed that the Constituent Assembly has fallen behind schedule and the parties have so far failed to reach agreement on the future structure and governance of Nepal. “A failure to agree on a vision for the future and to draft the constitution on time will be a clear disregard of the expectations and aspirations of Nepal’s citizens and will set back the country’s economic and social development,” they said. “We urge the political parties to put aside their differences and work together to agree on the creation of a more prosperous, equitable and democratic Nepal.”

The statement was issued on behalf of Australia, Denmark, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

“Other critical aspects of the CPA remain incomplete. The rehabilitation and integration of former Maoist combatants, and determining the structure of Nepal Army, as was agreed three years ago, is still not underway. The promised mechanisms for bringing justice to the victims of conflict, such as commissions to investigate disappea-rances and to seek truth and reconciliation, are still not in place,” the statement reads.

The envoys also expressed concern over lack of will to address conflict-era human rights abuses and tackle the continuing state of impunity. Political parties should renounce violence and work together for lasting peace, they said in the release.

“On this anniversary, we urge Nepal’s political parties to translate their public commitments into concrete actions to implement the peace agreement. We assure them and the people of Nepal of our continued readiness to support the peace process, which provides the essential underpinning of Nepal’s transition into peaceful and stable democracy, and its future economic growth and social development,” the release reads.

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.

* Full Name

* Address

* Email Address

* Comment
[Some of the HTML tags you can use : <b>, <i>, <a>]

* Captcha

Get another CAPTCHA code