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The official visit of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to Nepal from Oct 29 to Nov 1 is a testimony of the excellent bonds between Nepal and the United Nations that have grown from strength to strength since Nepal joined the world body  in 1955. It may be recalled that since the last visit by then Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2008 at the peak period of the country’s transition from conflict to peace, a political settlement of burning issues has already been achieved following the promulgation of the Constitution in 2015.

Subsequently, socio-economic transformation and shared prosperity upheld by sustainable development are the prime agendas of the nation. 

The United Nations decision to graduate Nepal into a developing country in 2021 with a grace period of five years and the World Bank’s elevation of Nepal into a lower-middle income country (in June 2020) are indicative of advancements the country is making. At the same time, emerging global challenges and the domestic challenges that have cropped up due to continuing vulnerability, structural impediments and capacity constraints pose a threat to developmental gains. 

The purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and the idealism of peaceful, cooperative relations of all nations of the world, connecting all humanity, has inspired the fundamental tenets of the constitution of Nepal.

In fact, Nepal has initiated and continued to set all major universally-acclaimed values and ideals through its Constitution, laws and policy initiatives, which largely go in line with the ultimate goals and principles of the global body.  

The challenges of implementation in a way bear similitude, albeit to a smaller extent within our national context. Looking at some of the opportunities that we can tap in the global and national contexts by working closely together with the United Nations system, it is relevant to touch upon some crucial ones in the context of the Secretary-General’s visit. Three functional pillars maintaining peace and security in a geopolitically transforming world through the semblance of equity and justice have always been most formidable.

The UN as a member-driven organization is always effortful in this priority agenda. In recent times, it has not been able to contain and peacefully resolve the Russia-Ukraine war. We have to see how far the UN General Assembly resolution passed on the ceasefire of the Israel-Hamas war goes in restoring mutually-acceptable peace and security in the Middle East. 

Any conflicts, hostilities or confrontations have repercussions in a globalized and connected world, the most vulnerable economies having to bear the brunt of these eventualities. It is satisfying to note that Nepal has been at the forefront of the UN peacekeeping operations, currently occupying the position of the second highest troops-contributing country. It has almost been a sole area in which Nepal is willing and able to make contributions to the global community. Aspirations to be a number one troops contributor in relation to the South Asian neighbors, who are also among the highest contributors in this regard, will add to the national honor and prestige. 

A South Asian Peacekeeping Training Centre to be located in Nepal and managed and operated with collective efforts is a cherished goal to be achieved. As Nepal has significantly enlarged the magnitude of participation in the peacekeeping operations, seeking enhanced roles for the security personnel in higher leadership and management positions, both at the headquarters and the fields, is but natural. On the development front, the UN’s continued endeavor to forge a common global agenda and actions through campaigns like MDGs and SDGs are innovative and welcome steps. 

This has raised hopes among billions of people in the Global South for integration of their countries and societies in the development mainstream, thereby making a positive movement toward equitable and just world order as a foundation of peace. If the UN had the power to marshal resources needed for these noble endeavors in an equitable manner, the world would have been a better place to live for everybody. As a country in need of more development assistance and technical support, ensuring smooth flows of these scarce and valuable resources through UN and other donor countries in a coordinated form during transition to graduation and beyond is essential for our nation. 

An important area in which we can take pride is the big transformation in the human rights regime of the country over the last two decades. In relation to what has already been achieved in human rights regime in comparable developing countries and, to some extent, even in certain specific areas in some developed countries, the commitments made through the Constitution of Nepal, 2015 and relevant laws, and subsequent progress made in crucial areas of human rights in a relatively shorter period of time is phenomenal. Nepal needs further human, physical and institutional development and a support of international rule of law and rule-based international order to sustain this momentum to a satisfactory end.

At this juncture, however, a mention of the transitional justice (TJ) mechanism that Nepal has made commitments to the Nepali people and the global community at large through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and all relevant actions of the peace process that followed the CPA is relevant. It should not remain as a blemish in a very successful peace process that concluded, in a way, following the constitution writing, sans this important component.

The amendment to the relevant legislation, under consideration in the Parliament, to bring it to an all-acceptable level in the best interest of the conflict victims and for the sake of lasting peace and reconciliation of the Nepali society, is being completed soon. Bringing the TJ process to its logical conclusion to meet the expectations of the national and international communities would set examples for countries trying to exit from conflict situations. 

The Prime Minister as well as the Minister for Foreign Affairs made various interventions in the 78th UN General Assembly in Nepal’s capacity as coordinator of the Global LDC Bureau. It is a very positive gesture on the part of the Secretary-General that he accepted our Prime Minister’s invitation when Nepal is in a position to work together with the global community to champion the cause of the global LDCs. 

The UN mechanisms—through ECOSOC, CDC, UNOHRLLS and various specialized agencies, funds and programs—have put up all-out efforts within their capacities to ameliorate the situation of the LDCs. More is necessary from able and willing member-states to contribute to overcome the structural constraints and vulnerabilities suffered by the LDCs on various fronts of sustainable development. 

Nepal now finds a suitable forum to collate the genuine socio-economic, human, environmental and trade concerns of the LDCs and work toward global consensus for enhanced and accelerated support for the 46 least developed countries, constituting a sizable 13 percent of the global population. Though having met the graduation criteria for two consecutive terms of the UN Committee on Development Policy, Nepal’s graduation by 2026 suffers a high degree of vulnerability because of the recent global economic slowdown, rising inflation, resurgent trade barriers and increased geopolitical tensions. 

Notably, Nepal has never met the UN criteria set for GNI per capita index, unlike other graduating countries. It means there is much more to do in the promotion of economic diplomacy at the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels. The national players must have a clear and coherent picture of our scope and limitations and push hard toward realizing the proven potentials the mountainous country harbors.

Importantly, Nepal’s Graduation Strategy should be brought out sooner than later in order to dovetail all available support and cooperation from the world community for a sustainable and irreversible graduation. Nepal may not remain an LDC after graduation, but it will still carry on the tag of LLDC and the handicaps it causes on overall development and enhancement of export trade.

Enhancing and enlarging connectivity of efficient and effective transport networks, policies, institutions, technological advancements, ideas and innovation within the region and beyond, therefore, needs to be guided by our political vision and commitment. 

The UN Framework for sustainable development of LLDCs has remained a useful guideline for global cooperation, the potentials of which must be maximized. 

Climate change and other crises 

The UN system and its evolving mechanisms are most suitable to fight the catastrophic effects of climate change and avert or manage the impacts of pandemics like Covid-19 collectively. 

Also, a strengthened, rule-based and fair global system alone will be capable of curbing the menace of drugs, illegal arms, smuggling and other transnational crimes. The LDCs require climate justice as they collectively emit less than four percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions, but bear the brunt of climate change. Support for adaptation and mitigation as well as compensation for ‘loss and damage’ already suffered by these countries in unequivocal terms is what is necessary.

Nepal alone has projected requirements in excess of $46bn equivalent of resources for implementation of long-term adaptation plan, which is believed to be far more important climate action. The uniqueness of the mountain terrains, and the heightened urgency to tackle disproportionate rise in temperatures, which is detrimental to billions of people living in the downstream areas for dependency of life-supporting water resources, have been less talked about. 

Hopefully, the Secretary-General would be able to see with his own eyes how devastating and quick transformations climate change has been making in the higher Himalayan region of Nepal when he visits Syangboche in Solukhumbu and Annapurna Sanctuary in the Annapurna massif in the course of his scheduled visits to these important touristic sites. 

Many seemingly internal issues, which are causing a lot of suffering, but which are not of our own making, must be highlighted and brought to global attention during propitious occasions like this. Our geopolitically sensitive location, highly mountainous terrains, less developed economy, meager export base and trade, and a socio-economic transformation process that still suffers from transitional policy gaps and institutional weaknesses seek enlightened pragmatism and inspirational guidance from our liberal, human rights-oriented and ideally-construed Constitution. 

All other downstream developments get positively transformed thereof. The UN can function well in a friendly, cooperative and ideal global milieu for which the values and principles emanating from conventional wisdom, idealism and idealistic realities are beacons to govern the complex and complicated world in the interests of the entire humanity. 

The author is a former PR/Ambassador of Nepal to the UN

Los Angeles: ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry, the Emmy-nominated actor whose sarcastic, but lovable Chandler Bing was among television’s most famous and most quotable characters, has died at 54.

The actor was found dead of an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times and celebrity website TMZ, which was the first to report the news. Both outlets cited unnamed sources confirming Perry’s death.

“Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family,” the company said in a statement. “The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.”

Perry’s publicists and other representatives did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Asked to confirm police response to what was listed as Perry’s home address, LAPD Officer Drake Madison told the AP that officers had gone to that block “for a death investigation of a male in his 50s.”

Perry’s 10 seasons on “Friends” made him one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, starring opposite Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer as a friend group in New York.

As Chandler, he played the quick-witted, insecure and neurotic roommate of LeBlanc’s Joey and a close friend of Schwimmer’s Ross. During the show’s hijinks, he could be counted on to chime in with a line like “Could this BE any more awkward?” or another well-timed quip.

Perry was open about his long and public struggle with addiction, writing at the beginning of his 2022 million-selling memoir: “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

“Friends” ran from 1994 until 2004, winning one best comedy series Emmy Award in 2002. The cast notably banded together for later seasons to obtain a salary of $1m per episode for each.

By the “Friends” finale, Chandler is married to Cox’s Monica and they have a family, reflecting the journey of the core cast from single New Yorkers trying to figure their lives out to several of them married and starting families.

The series was one of television’s biggest hits and has taken on a new life—and found surprising popularity with younger fans—in recent years on streaming services.

Perry described reading the “Friends” script for the first time in his memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”

“It was as if someone had followed me around for a year, stealing my jokes, copying my mannerisms, photocopying my world-weary yet witty view of life. One character in particular stood out to me: it wasn’t that I thought I could ‘play’ Chandler. I ‘was’ Chandler.”

Unknown at the time was the struggle Perry had with addiction and an intense desire to please audiences.

“'Friends’ was huge. I couldn’t jeopardize that. I loved the script. I loved my co-actors. I loved the scripts. I loved everything about the show but I was struggling with my addictions which only added to my sense of shame,” he wrote in his memoir. “I had a secret and no one could know.”

“I felt like I was gonna die if the live audience didn’t laugh, and that’s not healthy for sure. But I could sometimes say a line and the audience wouldn’t laugh and I would sweat and sometimes go into convulsions,” Perry wrote. “If I didn’t get the laugh I was supposed to get I would freak out. I felt that every single night. This pressure left me in a bad place. I also knew of the six people making that show, only one of them was sick.”

He recalled in his memoir that Aniston confronted him about being inebriated while filming.

“I know you’re drinking,” he remembered her telling him once. “We can smell it,” she said, in what Perry called a “kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer.”

In the foreword to Perry’s memoir, Lisa Kudrow described him as “whip smart, charming, sweet, sensitive, very reasonable, and rational.” She added, “That guy, with everything he was battling, was still there.”

An HBO Max reunion special in 2021 was hosted by James Corden and fed into huge interest in seeing the cast together again, although the program consisted of the actors discussing the show and was not a continuation of their characters’ storylines.

Perry received one Emmy nomination for his “Friends” role and two more for appearances as an associate White House counsel on “The West Wing.”

Perry also had several notable film roles, starring opposite Salma Hayek in the rom-com “Fools Rush In” and Bruce Willis in the crime comedy “The Whole Nine Yards.”

He worked consistently after “Friends,” though never in a role that brought him as much attention or acclaim.

In 2015, he played Oscar for a CBS reboot of “The Odd Couple” that aired for two seasons. He told the AP that playing Oscar Madison, the character originally made famous in the 1960s series by Walter Matthau, was a “dream role.” He also said he was surprised how much he enjoyed being filmed again in front of a live audience.

“I didn’t realize I missed it really until it actually happened, til we actually shot the pilot and there was a studio audience there and I realized, ‘Wow, I really like this. This is nice,’” he said. “You kind of ham it up for the people in the audience. My performance never got better than when there was an audience there.”

Perry was born 19 Aug 1969, in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

AP

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the main opposition leader, CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli, had a meeting on Friday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar. They discussed two important issues: the upcoming visit of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Nepal and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Bill.

Guterres is scheduled to visit Nepal on Oct 29 and will address a joint meeting of the Federal Parliament on Oct 31. Prime Minister Dahal aims to pass the transitional justice bill before Guterres’ arrival, but this requires the support of the main opposition. 

While there is agreement on most aspects of the bill, the major point of contention is the provision granting immunity to individuals accused of murder, considering murder as a human rights violation. The government is attempting to address issues related to murder through reconciliation. They plan to reclassify murder as a human rights violation rather than a serious crime, which has the support of the Congress and Maoists in the ruling coalition. However, UML has not accepted this change.

UML whip Mahesh Bartaula says they are open to reaching an agreement on the bill before the UN Secretary-General’s visit, but he accuses the government of creating tension instead of cooperation. “Prime Minister Dahal’s decision to grant a holiday on People’s War Day contributes to this tension,” he says.

A sub-committee under the Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee has prepared a report on amending the ‘Bill to amend the Commission for Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Act’ through consensus over the past month and a half. Bartaula, a member of the sub-committee, says most issues have been resolved, except for the topic of reconciliation in cases of serious incidents like murder.

UML’s stance is to not use reconciliation to absolve individuals of murder except in cases of double confrontations. They argue that such cases should be prosecuted. 

The issue of child soldiers during the armed conflict is another concern. While an agreement refers to these children as “connected parties of the conflict”, UML believes this issue is being unnecessarily prolonged for political reasons and calls for additional discussions.

Chair of the Human Rights Committee and CPN (Maoist Center) leader Bimala Subedi expressed optimism that the bill will move forward, emphasizing the need for consensus to resolve this sensitive issue. She highlighted the importance of political-level consensus, as it’s a long-standing matter. 

Four issues remain to be discussed within the committee, and Subedi believes that a positive environment for resolution is now present, especially following the meeting between the Prime Minister and the main opposition leader. 

Prime Minister Dahal had previously attempted to pass this bill in time he went to the United Nations General Assembly—to no avail.

Kathmandu: The Dashain festival this year has been relatively peaceful, with only a few incidents reported in the Kathmandu Valley, according to the Valley police.

Although there were sporadic incidents from Fulpati, the seventh day of Dashain on Oct 21, until Oct 27, there haven’t been major criminal activities, thefts, robberies, or road accidents. 

Senior Superintendent of Police Dinesh Raj Mainali, the spokesperson for the Kathmandu Valley Police Office, stated that in terms of peace and security, this year’s Dashain has concluded more amicably than in previous years.

Throughout the festival, special security plans were implemented, and undercover police were deployed in potential high-risk areas. Surveillance was conducted in all three districts using trained personnel and drones. 

Mainali said, “No efforts were spared in the security arrangements. Police officers operated undercover, and we even utilized drones and dogs for surveillance. Dashain remained peaceful due to the vigilant efforts of additional personnel. There is a plan to continue surveillance until Chhath”'

However, a few sporadic incidents did occur. A total of 103 incidents were reported between Oct 21 and 27, resulting in two fatalities and 118 injuries, as per Mainali.

Of these incidents, 51 were related to road accidents, resulting in one fatality and 73 injuries.

Additionally, 13 incidents involved physical altercations, leading to one fatality and 13 injuries. There were 10 incidents of theft and two incidents involving the use of sharp weapons, resulting in three injuries. 

Furthermore, three incidents related to gambling occurred, resulting in the arrest of 22 gamblers (seven in Kathmandu, 13 in Lalitpur, and two in Bhaktapur). The police confiscated approximately Rs 500,000 from them.