Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Bhim Bahadur Rawal has highlighted the importance of the safety and security of the civilians as a primary responsibility of national governments while emphasising the criticality to the legitimacy and credibility of UN peacekeeping missions. 

DPM Rawal made such comment while participating at the United Nations Security Council open debate on ‘Protecting civilians in the context of peacekeeping operations’.    

Not only did he underscore the need to fully respect the principles of UN peacekeeping—consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate—but also underlined a stronger need of concerted efforts and commensurate resources to overcome the difficulties on the way, the Nepali Embassy in New York said in a statement.

While reiterating that Nepali peacekeepers are fully oriented to protecting civilians, particularly women and girls during and after conflict, Rawal stressed that the Nepal Army, the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force have all integrated the UN policies regarding protection of civilians, sexual exploitation and abuse, and protection of human rights into the pre-deployment training of peacekeepers.

Rawal also stressed the significance of close coordination with the troop contributing countries/police contributing countries (TCCs/PCCs) to effectively implement the peacekeeping mandates and their civilian protection components and underlined the need to pay heed to their critical inputs.

Highlighting the fundamental characteristics of country’s new constitution, Rawal said the charter promulgated in September 2015 is the most forward-looking, inclusive and democratic that inspires and provides for a national commitment to the cause of international peace, security and prosperity.

On Saturday, UN Under-Secretary-General of Department of Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General of Department of Field Support Atul Khare held separate meetings with DPM Rawal. During the meetings, they touched upon the situation of Nepal and the country’s contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations, according to the embassy statement.