Nepal

At the outset, allow me to congratulate Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his election as President of the General Assembly and to assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation in discharging his responsibilities. I also thank the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report on the work of the United Nations (A/63/1) and his positive reference to the situation prevailing in Nepal. It is, indeed, a historic opportunity for me to address this Assembly as the first Prime Minister of Nepal, the newest republic of the world. As I stand here in front of the global leadership, I think of the long struggle that I and my party waged with single- mindedness for the liberation of the common man from the clutches of the age-old suppression, deprivation, marginalization and outright negligence of the previously existing polity. My fellow countrymen and women, toiling in the mountains and valleys, working day and night in the lowlands and the urban areas and yet unable to ensure even the simple necessities of life for their families, had a hope and expectation that one day they would lead a decent life with equal rights and opportunities and be recognized as respected citizens of the country. 15 08-52272 We are at that significant turning point in the political history of Nepal, and I and my party are proud to be the leading force of that positive historical change. Today, I see a great hope in the glinting eyes of the Dalit boy from the far west, the downtrodden woman from the indigenous nationality in the east, the homeless Tharu girl, the landless Madhesi and other peasants from the hills living under thatched roofs. I intend to lead them with conviction and sincerity in a new journey of sustainable peace and equitable progress in a modern Nepal. I have, therefore, the honour and great privilege of bringing with me to the Assembly the greetings and best wishes of the people and the Government of that new Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006, after a decade-long armed struggle, we began our peace process and eventually held elections to the Constituent Assembly in April this year. People overwhelmingly voted for my party and made us the single largest political party in the Assembly with great hope and expectations. At its first meeting, the Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, formally ending the 240- year-old monarchy and creating a new opportunity to transform the old feudalistic State into an inclusive and federal new Nepal. That was in keeping with the long- standing aspirations of the Nepalese people. They voted in favour of the change and transformation that my own party had fought for over so many years. After the historic political transformation, our agenda now is to bring about an equally historic socio-economic transformation of the country. Today, I must report with all humility that our Constituent Assembly is the most inclusive representative body, of which all marginalized, oppressed ethnic communities, indigenous nationalities, Dalits, the disadvantaged and people from the backward regions and communities are members, which will herald a new beginning in the country. That may very well be an example of representativeness to the world in the first decade of the twenty-first century. The Government is committed to restoring law and order, providing immediate relief to the people affected by the conflict, fighting against the cancerous growth of corruption and starting an economic recovery package, focusing on pro-poor growth, infrastructure development and public-private partnership. The Government will build an effective partnership with the international community in creating an atmosphere for unleashing a new socio- economic transformation, for which the Nepalese people have so long been waiting. Nepal’s peace process is unique in its characteristics and is based on multiparty democracy, inclusiveness, accommodation, dialogue and the recognition of the people as the ultimate arbiter. It is the outcome of our own creative disposition towards peace, and we feel that it can also serve as a reference model for peace elsewhere. We appreciate the continued support of the United Nations for the peace process, especially in monitoring the management of arms and personnel through the United Nations Mission in Nepal. The United Nations Mission has undertaken its mandated tasks well. I also take this opportunity to thank our neighbours, friends and donors for their continued support in favour of the peace process and the institutionalization of democracy in Nepal. I am confident they are doing so to unleash Nepal’s development potential, in accordance with the wish of the Nepalese people. As we proceed in the peace process within the country, new problems in the form of the global food crisis, rising oil prices and imminent danger from climate change stare us in the face. Those challenges also undermine our achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There will be no success in achieving the MDGs without ensuring that they are achieved in the least developed countries. Solemn pledges were made in the 2000 Millennium Declaration and at the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey. Many of those commitments are yet to be fulfilled and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals remains elusive to most of the world’s poor people. The United Nations agenda today has to tackle those development challenges and many other issues, such as religious extremism, terrorism, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction; transnational crimes, such as drugs, human trafficking and money-laundering; continuing conflicts within and among States; and gross violations of human rights, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is more than obvious that many of those global problems require global solutions. Together, we can rise to the occasion and adopt the vision and 08-52272 16 strategy that the founders of the United Nations charted in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the Organization. Multilateralism, not unilateralism, is the answer to those problems. Least developed countries like Nepal are faced with a special predicament in their development efforts. We are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty. For many historical reasons, we have low economic growth, low productivity, underdeveloped industries and traditional agriculture. Because of the low level of social indicators and fewer opportunities, conflict and crisis continue to be prevalent in those countries. Today, the growing gap between rich and poor within countries as well as between nations is a sure sign of a looming disaster. It is also inhuman and unjust that such a high level of inequality is still so common in this age of human achievements, abundance and progress. Equally important is the fact that islands of prosperity in a sea of poverty are not sustainable and certainly not in the enlightened self- interest of even the developed countries themselves, as they breed resentment, fuel conflict and undermine their own progress in the long run. They also go against the fundamental spirit of the United Nations. Because of the peculiar nature of the least developed countries and their high level of vulnerability, I strongly urge that the issues of least developed countries be looked at by the United Nations separately and addressed with special and focused programmes. They should be ensured dedicated support and cooperation if we want to make our world the just and inclusive place that the United Nations so proudly espouses. We are not only least developed, but also landlocked. That is a double disadvantage in our efforts to fulfil our development aspirations. In fact, we feel further marginalized by the overwhelming impact of the downside of globalization and the high cost of trade. We want full implementation of the respective global compacts, the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries and the Almaty Programme of Action for the landlocked developing countries. In particular, I would like to highlight the need on the part of our developed country partners to fulfil their commitments and pledges in allocating a certain percentage of their gross national product to those countries and in making trade concessions, debt relief and other capacity-building measures available in accordance with those compacts. On our part, I would like to undertake that Nepal will fulfil its pledge to own its development programmes in accordance with its national priorities, including those on poverty reduction and pro-poor governance policies. We need to protect our people from the growing vulnerabilities of climate change. For example, in my own country, Nepal, melting glaciers and shifting weather patterns are threatening life-support systems, undermining the sustainability of agriculture and unleashing extreme climate-induced disasters, such as frequent floods and landslides. The Himalayan range provides life-supporting water downstream for more than 1 billion people. Mount Everest, as the roof of the world, and the Himalayan range need to be protected and utilized properly to contribute to humankind as a whole. I therefore strongly appeal to the international community to extend all necessary support and cooperation to protect and promote that pristine environment. We need to create a regime of common but differentiated responsibilities in which the developed countries will mitigate the burden of adaptation for the vulnerable countries, such as the least developed and small islands. The world stands to benefit from addressing climate change if we are able to harness the tremendous potentials of Nepal’s hydropower, which is a renewable and clean source of energy. To that end, Nepal is ready to invite and encourage investment in its hydropower projects. I am pleased that the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific is now operational in Kathmandu 20 years after it was established by this Assembly. I thank all Members, countries of the region, the Secretary- General and the officials of the Secretariat for the smooth relocation of the Centre from New York to Kathmandu. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate Nepal’s commitment to making the Centre successful through the cooperation of all countries concerned. Over the years, peacekeeping has evolved as the soul of the United Nations. With that in mind, since 1958 Nepal has regularly placed its peacekeepers at the call of the United Nations. We are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Nepal’s continuous participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations. I take this opportunity to reiterate Nepal’s commitment to 17 08-52272 continuing to provide our troops for the cause of peace worldwide. Today, Nepal is the fifth largest contributor of troops and police personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations. We are glad that they have earned accolades for their professional competence and performance both at home and abroad. We consider that to be our modest contribution to international peace and security. The enjoyment of universal human rights is absolutely essential to creating an environment of peace, justice, democracy and development. As a democracy, Nepal is fully committed to protecting and promoting the human rights of its people under all circumstances, with constitutional and legal guarantees and implementation of the international human rights instruments to which Nepal is a party. The Government is committed to ending the environment of impunity. The proposed truth and reconciliation commission will seek to arrive at a necessary balance between peace and justice in order to ensure that justice is served and that the centrality of the peace process is preserved. We will continue to strengthen our National Human Rights Commission so that it can take up its statutory responsibility for the protection and promotion of human rights in the country even more effectively. It goes without saying that the environment for the protection and promotion of human rights in Nepal has significantly improved, especially after the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement in November 2006. As a least developed country that entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) not too long ago, Nepal is concerned at the lack of tangible progress in negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda. We think that the opportunities in world trade through the multilateral trading framework of WTO should not be delayed any further. The least developed countries deserve genuine duty-free and quota-free market access for all their tradable products from all the major countries, together with more favourable rules of origin and support for enhancing their supply-side capacity. Only then will the Doha Round be a development round in the real sense of the word. Without the meaningful integration of the least developed countries into the global regime, I do not know how we can make the global trading regime sustainable, equitable and inclusive. Similarly, the least developed countries need more aid for trade and trade facilitation measures to enhance their trading capacity. Today, the United Nations needs to reform and democratize itself in order to take on the numerous challenges in international peace and security effectively, and it should reflect the current realities of the world. We should also give the necessary credibility, legitimacy, competence and effectiveness to the world body in solving global problems. I take this opportunity to reiterate Nepal’s solemn faith and commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. On behalf of the people and the Government of Nepal, I pledge to work with all States Members in a spirit of goodwill, cooperation and mutual solidarity in order to take on the challenges that face the world. Indeed, we have adopted that spirit as one of the main tenets of Nepal’s foreign policy. Nepal is an example of how swords can be turned into ploughshares. That is what the United Nations is dedicated to. Therefore, as I address this Assembly today, I have a special feeling about the objectives and ideals that the United Nations stands for and the correlation between those ideals and the political, economic and social transformation that we would like to achieve in our country. May we all succeed in attaining our common objectives through our collective and sincere efforts as united and inseparable members of a single global family.