Shackled or unleashed UNMIN in Nepal’s peace process

When, in July, the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) was extended for a third time, the Indian ambassador to the United Nations, Nirupam Sen, while supporting a six-month extension, criticised the Mission for a "consistent effort to expand the definition of what Nepal sought in terms of support", and implied that UNMIN was trying to force on the Kathmandu government a political mission, one led by a special representative of the secretary-general, with the ability to use 'good offices' functions to mediate between parties. Underlying Sen's statement was a history of suspicion towards UNMIN, which India had harboured from the Mission's very beginning, in January 2007.

Over the past year and a half, UNMIN has played a crucial role in some aspects of Nepal's peace process. But it was also constrained in many other aspects by the fear and suspicion – on the part of Nepal's political parties, as well as New Delhi and Beijing – that the Mission would encroach on areas that should remain the sole responsibility and prerogative of the Nepali people. This fear persisted despite the fact that Nepal's political parties and India had already ensured that UNMIN was a focused mission of limited duration, one that did not include peacekeeping troops to enforce compliance of ceasefire arrangements but only arms monitors mandated with monitoring and reporting on compliance.