Nepali gov't to request UN to monitor truce: minister

A member of the negotiation team from the Nepali government said Saturday that the next round of the government-guerrilla talks will request the United Nations to monitor the cease-fire agreed upon between the government and the guerrilla.

Addressing a program at the Reporters Club in Kathmandu, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Pradip Gyawali said an agreement could be reached with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-Nepal (OHCHR-N) for effective monitoring of the cease-fire from both sides.

The next round of talks will be held in a few days, he told reporters.

Gyawali also said the government and the guerrilla are considering signing a Human Rights Accord that the rights defenders and civil society have been clamoring for.

The preamble of the 25-point cease-fire code of conduct made public on Friday also calls for commitment from both sides to uphold human rights norms.

Rights defenders have said once the Human Rights Accord is signed, both the parties to the conflict will be bound to international conventions on human rights.

The National Human Rights Commission has already sent a draft of the Human Rights Accord to both the government and the guerrilla.

The government has released around 750 guerrillas while 150 others, who are still facing multiple charges, will be set free after completion of necessary procedures, Gyawali said.

Gyawali also appealed to the guerrilla to create a conducive environment to allow all the displaced people to return home, as per the cease-fire code of conduct.

Source: Xinhua