United Nations Radio

After several months of political wrangling Nepal now has a date for elections which would pave the way for the establishment of a Constituent Assembly.

That date is April 10, 2008. The Government and the seven parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement have also agreed on a twenty three - point plan as a political basis for renewing their cooperation with each other. But many observers of the situation there, including members of the UN Security Council are wondering whether the time is sufficient to deal with all the challenges that still lie ahead.

How does the Government plan to address the concerns of the marginalized groups in the country such as the indigenous population, women, and other traditionally marginalized groups like the Medeshis who are not pleased with the new agreement? What happens if these groups that are unhappy carry out their threats to agitate for a different outcome? How will security and human rights concerns be addressed during this period? These are just a few of the questions I posed to Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Nepal, Ian Martin, who was in New York to address the Council on the situation on the ground and the renewal of the Mission's mandate for a further six months. In this edition of Perspective he shares his views of "Nepal at the Crossroads" and some of the challenges facing it as it moves towards the critical April 10th elections.