In the course of the past week, the UN Secretary-General's Representative has held talks in Kathmandu with, amongst others, all government ministries working on the IDP issue in a meeting organized by the National Planning Commission; the Chief of Army Staff of the Royal Nepali Army; the Chief of the Election Commission; the Peace Secretariat; and international aid agencies.

Professor Kälin has also travelled to Kapilvastu, Nepalgunj and to Dailekh districts. In all places where he travelled, he met with local Chief District Officers (CDOs), members of civil society and representatives of the Royal Nepal Army to gain a better understanding of the situation of internal displacement in the country and to assess the opportunities for enhancing the national and international protection of the human rights of the internally displaced.

He held direct meetings with internally displaced persons in order to hear from them their key concerns. Wherever he went, they overwhelmingly welcomed his presence and stated their deep desire for peace to return to their country so that they can return to their homes. Contrary to what has been published in a major newspaper today, the Representative of the Secretary-General has not had any meetings with representatives of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

The Representative of the Secretary-General is currently in Biratnagar and is scheduled to return tomorrow to Kathmandu to complete his mission.

On Friday 22 April, he will hold a press conference to brief the press on his impression and recommendations for Nepal on the protection of the human rights of internally displaced persons.

OFFICE OF HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and Ramesh Nath Pandey, Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of His Majesty's Government of Nepal, signed the agreement establishing the operation today. The agreement is to be implemented immediately and planning is already well-advanced to ensure the early start-up of operations and deployment of human rights officers for the monitoring.

It is foreseen that OHCHR field offices will be set-up at the regional level in order to ensure rapid response to reports of human rights violations. The High Commissioner said she hoped human rights monitoring under United Nations auspices would be an important step in establishing accountability for human rights abuses and helping prevent serious human rights violations resulting from the nine-year old armed conflict.

"Breaking the cycle of serious and systematic abuses will be the first essential step toward achieving peace and reconciliation in Nepal", Mrs. Arbour said.

The agreement provides for the establishment of an OHCHR Office in Nepal that will "monitor the observance of human rights and international humanitarian law, bearing in mind the climate of violence and the internal armed conflict in the country". Based on the information collected by the office, the High Commissioner for Human Rights will submit periodic analytic reports on any human rights violations committed by either side of the conflict to the Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly, and the Secretary-General. The Office will also advise His Majesty's Government on matters related to the promotion and protection of human rights in Nepal and will provide advisory services and human rights support to representatives of civil society, human rights non-governmental organisations and individuals.

Under the agreement, the Office will "engage all relevant actors, including non-state actors, for the purpose of ensuring the observance of relevant international human rights and humanitarian law". The OHCHR monitors will seek the cooperation of both the security forces and the CPN-Maoists to ensure that all human rights violations, wherever they occur, are investigated and reported on. The agreement also stipulates that the OHCHR Office will maintain "impartiality, independence, objectivity and transparency" in all its work. It is expected that the Office will work closely with local human rights defenders, including the press, in carrying out its investigations.

OFFICE OF HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS