Nepal

Let me begin by congratulating Mr. Jeremić on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. My delegation assures him of its full support in the discharge of his responsibilities. I also take this opportunity to place on record our profound appreciation to the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for having successfully presided over the sixty-sixth session of the Assembly. Let me also express our sincere gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his strong commitment and dedication in serving the United Nations. In establishing the United Nations at a time when the world was emerging from the ashes of successive devastating wars, our founding fathers envisioned a peaceful, stable, just and prosperous world. Nearly seven decades later, the lofty objectives of the United Nations Charter are yet to be fully realized. Threats to international peace and security remain unabated, with traditional sources of threats continuing alongside the emergence of new sources and forms of conflict. In fact, the sense of insecurity seems to be more pervasive today as people around the world continue to face a wide range of situations, characterized by the legacy of colonialism, injustice, domination, exploitation, hatred, intolerance, exclusion, xenophobia and so on. Economic insecurity in the face of the heightened global economic and financial crises and fierce competition for dwindling resources and energy security also play their part in generating tensions in many parts of the world. The concept of collective security being the core pillar of the United Nations Charter has often been undermined through recourse to dispute-settlement means that are outside the purview of a multilateral mechanism. Unilateralism and the selective interpretation of the provisions of the Charter risk inciting more conflict and confrontation rather than understanding and cooperation. That necessitates wider respect and observance of the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and non-interference as the bedrock principles of international relations. Those principles cannot and should not be put to the political test under any circumstances. The growing challenges do not mean that the role and importance of the United Nations have diminished, but rather demand a more effective and stronger Organization. We must internalize that reality and move forward, grasping the true spirit of its founding principles and purposes. Nepal supports a just and lasting solution to the Middle East. It is our principled position to support the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to self- determination and a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian State on the basis of the United Nations resolutions. The peaceful and secure coexistence of the independent States of a sovereign Palestine and Israel are crucial to ensuring lasting peace in the Middle East. We call for an end to the violence and the peaceful resolution of the Syrian crisis by the Syrian people themselves. The sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Syria must be upheld. We are of the firm opinion that the protracted embargo on Cuba is unjustified and needs to be ended immediately and unconditionally. We recognize the legitimate rights of every sovereign State to pursue the development of nuclear technology solely for peaceful purposes and under effective international supervision. We stand firmly against nuclear proliferation, the arms race and the misuse of nuclear technology for ulterior motives. We strongly oppose and renounce violence and physical attacks on diplomats anywhere under any pretext. We reiterate our call for general and complete elimination of nuclear and all other weapons of mass destruction in a time-bound manner. The international community should work in unison to strengthen controls over small arms and light weapons to prevent their pervasive abuse by criminal elements. It is heartening to note that, as a major troop- contributing country, Nepal has already provided over 92,000 professional and dedicated peacekeepers to the United Nations for various operations since its first participation in 1959. We remain steadfast in our commitment to international peace and security and affirm that our contribution to that noble cause will continue. While calling for timely reforms in that f lagship activity, we stress the importance of equitable representation of troop-contributing countries, at the leadership level, both at United Nations Headquarters and in field missions. I would like to reaffirm Nepal’s unreserved condemnation of terrorism wherever it occurs and in all its forms and manifestations. We renew our call for an expeditious conclusion of the negotiations on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. As we continue to combat terrorism, we must not forget that durable peace can be built only on the firm pillars of the prevention of conflict, the peaceful resolution of disputes, persistent efforts for disarmament, poverty reduction, development and respect for diversity, fairness and justice. There is a need to differentiate between terrorism and struggles for liberation, freedom and sustainable peace and development. Our commitment to democracy, human rights, the rule of law and inclusive development is unf linching. The mutually reinforcing effects of such principles foster the active participation of the people in governance processes towards safeguarding peace, security and development. To address Nepal’s post-conflict transition needs, we have established mechanisms and processes for the protection and promotion of human rights and for their monitoring at the highest level and at various tiers of the sub-national level. As a party to 22 human rights conventions, including seven core instruments, we have established several laws that ensure the rights of all sectors of society, including women, children and marginalized and deprived communities. We are committed to controlling cross-border human trafficking and to doing our utmost to ensure that the rights and interests of migrant workers are protected in countries that are destinations for labour. The National Human Rights Commission, which is an independent constitutional body, operates as the country’s all-powerful watchdog for the protection and promotion of human rights. We are committed to strengthening that specialized national institution as a true custodian of human rights. Nepal has provided shelter to a large number of refugees on humanitarian grounds. While we appreciate the assistance of the international community in supporting refugees, we reiterate that their voluntary repatriation to their homeland with dignity and honour is the only durable solution to the refugee problem. We underscore that the rule of law at the international level is as important as at the national level in ensuring the sovereign equality of all States, respect for their territorial integrity and political independence and non-intervention in their internal affairs. Those are essential principles for peaceful coexistence and mutual cooperation among States. The issue of sustainable development has come to the forefront of today’s global discourse. It was the focus of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). We believe that we need to pursue not only sustainable development goals, but also a development path towards equal prosperity through meaningful development opportunities by eradicating the deeply entrenched inequalities and global exploitative practices. In our opinion, freeing all human beings from the dehumanizing clutches of poverty and hunger should be the first essential step towards that end. The outcome document of Rio+20 (resolution 66/288, annex) sets out a broad framework for global action for “The future we want” and a post- 2015 global development agenda. The need of the hour is to ensure effective implementation. As we all have come to realize, climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Its insidious effects are visible everywhere and are compounded by disasters of increasing magnitude and frequency. Countries like Nepal, which make a negligible contribution to greenhouse gases but have to bear the disproportionate brunt of the impacts of climate change, deserve special assistance in creating and maintaining climate-resilient societies. Negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should continue to be guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in letter and spirit. Nepal hopes that the successor mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol ensures binding commitments and climate justice. The various funding mechanisms for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures must be activated, and action must be taken on an urgent basis. The world we live in is more unjust today than when we inherited it. Contrary to much-touted popular belief, the profusion in knowledge, the revolution in science and technology and increased mobility in ideas and global capital, though often termed as advancements characteristic of the modern world, have failed to deliver significant contributions to making our planet safer and more just. They could have, but that is not the reality. It is an irony that our capacities to produce goods and services have increased manyfold, leading to an unprecedented accumulation of wealth, but over one third of the world’s population is forced to live in abject poverty. The rapid globalization of finance and an unsustainable consumption of resources have made a few people enormously rich at the cost of the rest, making for the greatest inequality among human beings ever in history. Obviously, the transformative power of globalization has not been utilized for the benefit of the masses. The direction and pattern of the current form of economic globalization therefore call for a change in its mode of operation so that it becomes more inclusive and responsive to the needs of poor and marginalized people. Nepal views the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Group of 77 and China as important multilateral forums that should play an active role in advancing the United Nations agenda, in line with the Charter objectives of pursuing the shared goals of peace, progress and prosperity. The principles and purposes of NAM are of continued relevance in forging developing countries’ collective moral resolve to create an equitable, fair and just world order, combating the conservative forces of repression, invasion, intimidation and injustice. The ideals of NAM, as reiterated at its recently held sixteenth summit in Teheran, go a long way towards fostering better understanding and cooperative relations among countries and peoples of the world. The least developed countries (LDCs) are suffering from dehumanizing marginalization and deprivation of the basic necessities of life. This state of affairs is a blemish on the sheer aff luence achieved in the globalized world. Global sustainable development will not be possible without sustainable development for the LDCs, including substantial improvement in the quality of life of their 880 million people. The world must pay due attention in deeds as well as in words to the special and different needs and requirements of the LDCs. The landlocked LDCs (LLDCs), among which Nepal figures, have to bear the additional disadvantages of physical and non-physical barriers in trade. That results in increased transactional costs for transit transport, which renders their international trade uncompetitive. Transit countries, regional groups, the international financial institutions and other development partners should work together to overcome those difficulties by investing in transport infrastructure links and trade facilitation measures. We underline the central role of the United Nations in promoting the development agenda, taking into account the special needs and development challenges confronting the LDCs, the LLDCs and other vulnerable groups of countries. Timely and ongoing reforms of the United Nations are necessary to strengthen and revitalize this world body so that it can respond to increasing global challenges. The General Assembly must be strengthened and endowed with decision-making power and authority commensurate with its global representation. Nepal supports the expansion of the Security Council in both member categories and hopes to see greater accountability and transparency in its working methods. The Economic and Social Council must be strengthened for the promotion of international economic cooperation, coordination, policy review and dialogue. It must also formulate and develop the social and economic agenda and work for the implementation of agreed international development goals, with special emphasis on development for LDCs, LLDCs and small island developing States, among others. We seek an increased role for the United Nations system in global economic governance, with strengthened coordination and cooperation with the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization, to reflect the dynamics of change. Let me brief ly say a few words about the current situation in my country. The historic task we face is still to positively conclude the historical transition we are undergoing as early as possible. We need the Constituent Assembly to promulgate a new constitution and we need to finally complete the peace process. Based on the historic people’s movement of 2006, which was the culmination of many decades of struggle by the Nepalese people against autocracy, we abolished the monarchy and established a republican State. We also adopted other important principles, such as secularism, federalism and inclusive, proportional representation and participation, although they are yet to be codified in a new constitution. The Constituent Assembly was elected for the first time in Nepal’s political history in 2008 and was mandated to draft a constitution addressing the aspirations of the people for change, a restructuring of the State and an end to all forms of exploitation and discrimination based on class, ethnicity, gender and region. The Constituent Assembly worked for four years to draft the new constitution and completed 80 to 90 per cent of the drafting, but never finalized the text. Not having met its deadline, and after the Supreme Court ruled against extensions, it was dissolved on 27 May this year. We have made qualitative progress on the technical side of the peace process, mainly the integration of former Maoist combatants. There is no outstanding problem left in that regard and the process is near completion. A transitional justice mechanism is in place to promote the peace and reconciliation process needed for the completion of the peace process. But we have yet to find a solution to the Constituent Assembly’s inability to create a constitution. Political parties are engaged in dialogue and negotiations in that regard and are seriously committed to finding a consensus solution. National consensus is the only option to find a way out of the current impasse. We hope we will be able to do so without excessive delay. As we go through the process of institutionalizing change, we are of the firm belief that democracy, development and peace are interrelated and interdependent. By “democracy”, we mean inclusive and participatory democracy, and by “development” we mean people-centred development with social justice and socioeconomic transformation. Without democracy and development, there cannot be lasting and sustainable peace. And democracy, development, peace and stability should safeguard national sovereignty. Thus democracy, development, peace and national sovereignty are the major components of our process of change. From our experience, we can say that democracy has both universal and particular aspects. We thank the international community, including the United Nations, for its continued support for and cooperation in our peace and constitution-making process from the very beginning, and hope that it will continue in the future. Nature has blessed us with an outstanding mountain range with gushing rivers, incredible biodiversity and a landscape spectrum of contrast and vibrancy. We are equally rich in ancient cultural heritage, multiple ethnic cultures and a diverse mosaic of hardworking people. We need a stable and peaceful environment if we are to make effective use of those diverse endowments for socioeconomic transformation, along with ongoing State restructuring. Only then will it be possible to translate the historic achievements we have made on the political front into tangible results in economic and human development terms. As a symbolic gesture to institutionalize peace for development in the national, regional and global contexts, we want to develop Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the apostle of peace, into an international city of peace. In that respect, we call for international support and cooperation to realize the initiative. In conclusion, I would like in all humility to draw the attention of all world leaders to the core reality that if we do not reach the goal of global peace and prosperity together, then nobody will. That is why we must act together accordingly.