UN mission in Nepal offers 60-week time plan for integration of UCPN-M combatants
By ANIFriday, July 9, 2010
KATHMANDU - The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has prepared a “non-paper” proposing a 60-week time plan for the integration and rehabilitation of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN-M) combatants.
According to a report in The Kathmandu Post, the “Hypothetical timeline for Integration and Rehabilitation” was handed over last month to leaders of the three major parties-UCPN-M, Nepali Congress and the Communist Party Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist-involved in negotiations on deciding the fate of the former anti- government forces soldiers.”
According to a Xinhua report, the paper is based on current proposals from various national actors, refined according to the lessons learnt from the discharge of disqualified combatants and international experience on the subject.
“Much of the timeline will change according to the decisions that are made as negotiations progress. Those decisions are made by the parties,” said an UNMIN official.
On May 12, while extending the tenure of UNMIN, the UN Security Council had called upon the government and UCPN-M to agree and implement a timetabled action plan with clear benchmarks for integration and rehabilitation of the combatants.
The paper has proposed that at the end of Week Four, a secretariat of the six-party Special Committee would be formed and the combatants will come under the supervision and control of the Special Committee by the end of Week Five.
It has suggested the design of rehabilitation package will be finalized only after the completion of national labor market survey and socio-economic survey.
The timeline outlines that the labor market survey will complete by the end of Week 16 and socio-economic survey by Week 20.
The combatants would split into camps depending on choice. UNMIN has suggested establishing three camps - P (for voluntary retirement), Integration (I) and Rehabilitation (r). The document says the parties are yet to find a meeting point on whether such centers will exist in all camps or there will be one overall for each option. (ANI)
