A UN team will monitor the ceasefire called by Nepal's new government and the Maoist guerrillas following a request made by both sides, a minister and negotiator in the peace talks said Saturday.Pradip Gyawali, minister for tourism, culture and civil aviation, who is also part of a three-member government team that started peace negotiations with the rebels Friday, said the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, headed by Ian Martin, was asked to monitor the truce.
Gyawali said the UN agency, which opened an office here in May 2005 to keep an eye on human rights violations by the state as well as Maoists, has consented to monitor the ceasefire.
Talks between the guerrillas and the government headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala were resumed after three years at the lush Gokarna Forest and Golf Resort in Kathmandu. Both sides inked an agreement to abide by a code of conduct after nearly six hours of discussions.
The code of conduct focuses on arms control by both sides and says a national or international monitoring body would be asked to oversee the ceasefire for violations.
Gyawali said both sides have agreed to sign a human rights accord.
Several international rights organisations, including the OHCHR, had been asking Nepal to sign the accord for a long time.
Last month, UN envoy Tamrat Samuel had visited Nepal when for the first time he met members of the new government.
Samuel, Martin and Matthew Kahane, the UN Development Programme chief in Kathmandu, had a flurry of meetings with the prime minister and other ministers, leading to speculation that the UN could be asked to supervise the laying down of arms by Maoists during the election to choose between monarchy and a republic.
The Maoists have been asking for UN supervision, a demand that was rejected by the earlier governments. (IANS)
