A jumbo United Nations (UN) mission held its first meeting in
Kathmandu setting out on a week-long mission on Monday to find out
practicalities of getting real UN monitors on the ground in Nepal,
a leading newspaper, The Kathmandu Post reported on
Monday.
According to the daily, the 31-member mission headed by Ian
Martin, who is the UN Secretary-General's personal representative
in Nepal, held its first meeting after arriving here on Saturday
and Sunday for internal planning.
"It is a multi-disciplinary team to make sure we can assess and
plan all of the needs the government and the Communist Party of
Nepal (CPN) (formerly known as guerrilla) have asked the UN for
supporting the peace," Kieran Dwyer, who is also the spokesperson
at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal,
was quoted by the daily as saying.
The members have been divided into at least nine sub-groups,
military, electoral, political, de-mining, security, logistics,
media, police and crosscutting issues of gender and child
protection, the daily reported.
The mission will hold a press meeting at the end of this week as
it completes its assessment task, according to the report.
The mission is here according to a Security Council mandate, the
first of three steps of the UN's involvement.
Once the mission submits its report to the Secretary-General and
the Security Council, 35 arms monitors will arrive who will be
followed by 25 electoral advisors, the report added.
(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2006)
