UN concerned over Nepal’s deadlock in drafting Constitution

The UN has expressed concern over Nepal`s deadlock in drafting a new constitution and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the nation`s leaders to continue their dialogue, according to his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

He told reporters here on Friday that Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jens Toyberg-Frandzen “expressed the UN`s increasing concern about the diminishing momentum for inclusive negotiation on the new constitution to be adopted by consensus.”

Adopting the new constitution is a vital element of the 2006 peace agreement that ended a Maoist insurgency. As the January 22 midnight deadline drew for drafting a new constitution, a brawl broke out in Nepal`s Parliament and it was adjourned by Speaker Subash Nembang.

Dujarric said that at the Secretariat`s initiative, Toyberg-Frandzen briefed the Security Council Thursday on the Nepal situation during closed-door consultations originally convened on other topics.

He said that Toyberg-Frandzen reiterated Ban`s “call for Nepali leaders to continue dialogue in a spirit of flexibility and urgency” and emphasised that the new Constitution “should enjoy wide support of the people” because of its importance to the peace process.
IANS