Nepal, 2002

Let me begin by taking this

opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on your

unanimous election to preside over the fifty-seventh

session of the General Assembly. My delegation

pledges its full support to you and has full confidence

in your ability to steer the session to a successful

conclusion. I would also like to express my

delegation's profound appreciation to your predecessor,

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His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, for the excellent

manner in which he guided the fifty-sixth session.

Our tributes are also due to the Secretary-

General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his

tireless efforts to carry out the mandate of the United

Nations.

Nepal congratulates Switzerland and welcomes it

as a new Member of the United Nations. We also look

forward to having the privilege of welcoming East

Timor as a new Member in a few days.

We are meeting here under the long and dark

shadow of the terrorist attacks carried out against our

host city on 11 September 2001. The trauma and

tragedy the attacks wrought are still fresh in our

memory. Our heart goes out to the children who lost

their parents and to the families who lost their near and

dear ones.

Itself a victim of terrorism, Nepal understands the

pain and peril terrorists brutally perpetrate on

individuals and societies. As globalization and

technological advances have made it possible for

terrorists to move people and funds across the world

with ease, the concerted efforts of nations will be

essential to stamp out terrorism. We therefore support

the ongoing global war on terrorism and see the need

for better enforcement of existing international law and

for the conclusion of a comprehensive global

convention for that purpose. In Nepal we have enacted

a new law in this regard, as well as rules and

regulations that include provisions of relevant

international treaties to which we are a party.

Being opposed to democracy and freedoms, the

so-called Maoist terrorists in Nepal have been taking

innocent lives, abducting children to work as child

soldiers, and destroying private homes, schools and

vital infrastructure. In view of this, His Majesty's

Government has recognized them as terrorists and has

launched a campaign to protect people and property.

We appreciate the moral and financial support from our

friends in this effort. We also deplore any suggestion

that tends to equate the Government's obligation to

protect its citizens with the terrorists' dastardly acts of

violence.

Even though terrorism is the menace of the

moment, other peace and security problems continue to

trouble the world. The Middle East is burning and

Africa is boiling over with conflict. Tension also

abounds elsewhere — in Asia, Europe and Latin

America.

To find comprehensive peace in the Middle East,

Nepal supports the time-bound implementation of

Security Council resolution 1397 (2002) and of the

Quartet agreement of April 2002.

Iraq must comply with the relevant Security

Council resolutions, and the international community

must respect the sanctity and integrity of the Charter of

the United Nations in order to avoid setting fire to the

wider region.

We are happy that Afghanistan is limping back to

normalcy. Providing security coverage over the entire

country should be the United Nations priority so that

reconstruction can pick up momentum.

East Timor has emerged as a free South Pacific

nation. We congratulate its people on their freedom and

independence, and the United Nations on helping them

through the transition.

It is encouraging that Sierra Leone has achieved a

measure of stability. In order to achieve a wider peace,

attempts must be redoubled to resolve the conflicts in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and

Burundi.

The Balkans, Cyprus and the Korean peninsula

should receive necessary support in their quest for

peace and harmony.

No durable peace will be possible without the

prevention of conflicts and the resolution of disputes

through peaceful means. Peacekeeping, disarmament

and confidence-building are the pillars of the edifice of

culture of peace. United Nations peacekeeping

operations have proved very useful in helping to

stabilize fragile situations during and after conflicts.

Nepal is a major player in United Nations

peacekeeping and has contributed more than 40,000

military and police personnel so far. Our peacekeepers

have served the United Nations with outstanding

competence and dedication, sustaining 42 casualties in

the line of duty. Our commitment to United Nations

peacekeeping operations remains robust. Supplying

fully self-sustained troops is our goal, but that often

becomes difficult for a poor country. Until we achieve

our goal, the United Nations must continue to bridge

the resource gap through innovative means.

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In our view, the total elimination of nuclear

weapons in a time-bound manner constitutes the

cornerstone of the disarmament endeavour. We also

stress the imperative of observing existing international

treaties, ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty and concluding a fissile material cut-off treaty.

Nuclear-weapon-free zones and a guarantee not to use,

or threaten to use, nuclear weapons against non-

nuclear-weapon States, and other confidence-building

measures will help the process of nuclear disarmament.

Equally important is the need to eradicate chemical,

biological and other weapons of mass destruction.

Small arms have taken more lives than any other

type of weapons. We welcome the agreement that

emerged from the United Nations Conference on the

Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All

Its Aspects last year. Nonetheless, we underline the

need for stricter controls on the possession of such

arms by non-State actors.

United Nations Regional Centres for peace and

disarmament are an important tool for building

confidence and helping the process of disarmament in

their respective regions. We are grateful to Member

States for having designated Nepal as host of the

Regional Centre in Asia and the Pacific. It is, however,

deeply troubling that the Centre is yet to move to

Kathmandu, despite our full commitment to meeting all

those obligations that other hosts have met. We urge

the United Nations to relocate the Centre immediately

and not to set terms and conditions over and above

those that other hosts of similar Centres have accepted.

One may argue that not all conflicts are products

of poverty. Yet people living in poverty, deprivation

and despair easily become susceptible to the evil

designs of extremist elements. Hence, poverty

reduction and sustainable development are an

inseparable part of efforts to prevent conflicts and

terrorism and to promote peace.

Indeed, developing countries must bear the

primary responsibility for their own development.

Nepal has undertaken far-reaching reforms to liberalize

the economy, optimize internal resources, attract

foreign investment and protect the environment. Most

of its public expenditure is invested in people and in

poor areas. Measures have been taken to provide clean

Government and improve overall governance.

However, our problems are so big and our

resources so limited that without additional resources

and market access we cannot accelerate our growth and

sustain our development. Wealthy nations will

therefore have to fulfil their commitments made at the

Millennium Summit, as well as at the Doha, Monterrey

and Johannesburg conferences. We appreciate the

pledges of the European Union and the United States to

raise the level of their development assistance and urge

them to keep their word.

Developing countries also need a conducive

global economic climate to grow. For that to happen,

rich nations must strive to lift the world economy out

of the current recession and agree on major reforms in

the international financial architecture.

More than others, least developed countries in

Africa and elsewhere need increased assistance and

support to break loose from their poverty trap.

Developed nations should do everything in their power

to meet the official development targets, provide duty-

free and quota-free access for the products of the least

developed countries to their markets and help

implement other provisions of the Brussels Programme

of Action.

Landlocked developing countries suffer the

constraints of remoteness, high-cost economies and

high transit costs. They need targeted assistance to

overcome their specific hurdles, as do the small and

poor island developing States. Nepal appreciates the

United Nations for its important role in propelling

development in developing countries. We also welcome

the timely appointment of the High Representative for

the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked

Developing Countries and Small Island Developing

States.

Regional cooperation is a linchpin of attempts

collectively to foster competitiveness, capacity and

synergy. In South Asia, we are striving to build such

cooperation under the South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Poverty alleviation,

trade liberalization and technical cooperation have

received the principal focus as precursors to the

ultimate establishment of a South Asian economic

union. The eleventh SAARC summit, which Nepal

hosted in January, is a testament to member States'

eagerness not to let their political differences affect the

process of regional economic integration.

Nepal is fully committed to democracy, justice

and human rights, including those of women and

children. We are strengthening the values and

institutions of democracy and incorporating

international human rights standards into our domestic

laws. Our National Human Rights Commission is fully

functional and the judiciary is being revitalized.

Sadly enough, there are nearly 20 million

refugees around the world and many more internally

displaced persons. In Nepal alone, there are over

100,000 refugees from Bhutan, deprived of their

human rights at home. With a view to finding a durable

solution to the problem, Nepal has engaged in bilateral

negotiations with Bhutan for nearly a decade now. We

call on Bhutan to take the negotiations as a matter of

urgency and to pave the way for the earliest

repatriation of the refugees.

Friendly countries, the United Nations system —

particularly the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food

Programme — and non-governmental organizations

have been generously assisting us in the maintenance

of the refugees. We express our appreciation to them

for their help and urge them to continue it until the

refugees return home.

Committed to the principles and purposes of the

United Nations, Nepal underlines the need for United

Nations reform, so that the Organization can meet the

challenges before it. Therefore, revitalizing the General

Assembly and the Economic and Social Council is our

priority. We favour reinforcing collaboration and

complementarity between the Economic and Social

Council and the Security Council in their respective

and related areas.

In our view, it is imperative to carry out a limited

expansion of the Security Council membership in both

categories, in a way that preserves the Council's

flexibility and ensures equitable geographical

representation. Reform of its working methods must

also continue, with a view to enhancing transparency

and improving the quality of consultations, particularly

with troop-contributing countries.

Reform is equally essential within the Secretariat

in order to increase its efficiency and effectiveness.

Inter-agency coordination should also be upgraded.

Central to strengthening the United Nations are a

vigorous Non-aligned Movement and a robust Group of

77. As a member of both, Nepal pledges to work with

other countries to reinvigorate those bodies and to

expand cooperation between them and the United

Nations.