Plan to boost UN peace missions

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: The government is preparing to implement a plan to enhance transparency and management of Nepali peace-keeping missions under the United Nations.

The recently prepared plan will be implemented over the next five years. It calls for a policy review to increase the number of Nepali peace keepers under UN missions.

“Although Nepal has been long involved in UN peace-keeping missions, absence of government policy and guidelines have prevented Nepal from making its presence felt. Nepali peace-keepers also rarely get high ranks in the missions,” a member of the taskforce that drafted the strategic plan said.

The taskforce, headed by Sharad Chandra Paudel, joint secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, was involved in preparing the five-year (2012-2017) strategic plan.

The report has recommended measures to enhance the army’s capacity for taking part in UN peace missions.

Besides being a source of national pride, the report further noted the missions were a good source of income for the country — with Rs 3.5 billion coming to the national coffers each year from various missions.

The plan recommended that well-equipped and standard training centres be set up within a year. Likewise, the policy highlights importance of prompt supply and maintenance of logistics. The plan recommends visits of high-level political figures to Nepali peace missions to boost the morale of security personnel. The plan further stresses coordination between security agencies in exchange of knowledge and expertise on peace-keeping.

“Within the next five years, the government expects to have 10,000 Nepali personnel in various troubled areas of the world,” said the source. “At present, around 4,500 Nepali peace-keepers are on the ground, he said.