KATHMANDU, JULY 30

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has stated that there was a need for adequate international laws for the best interest of mountainous and island countries.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Asian Regional Conference on International Law here today, President Bhandari pointed out the need for international laws to address the challenges posed by climate change.

The event was organised by the Nepalese Society of International Law Society and Asian Society of International Law in Lalitpur today.'I am mentioning this because it occurs to me that there international laws were inadequate to protect the interest of mountainous and island countries although many international conferences on climate change were held over three decades,' the president said.

She viewed that only a world order based on justice would help understand the specific needs of developing countries like Nepal and the need to formulate policies accordingly.

Furthermore, the head of the state said, 'We have been strongly advocating nonaligned foreign policy for the past seven decades because we believe that this will lay the basis for the protection of sovereignty and national integrity of the country.'

Stating that Nepal was against wars in all its manifestations and upheld the view that resolution to any disputes among countries should be sought through peaceful means, President Bhandari shared that Nepal also strongly held the belief that unhealthy competition among countries for nuclear weapons should be stopped.

President Bhandari further said, 'Nepal has a clear viewpoint that only policy of peaceful co-existence, sense of fraternity, non-aggression and non-intervention would contribute to the development and compliance of existing international laws.'

She drew the attention of the conference to the concrete contributions of Nepal to the development of international laws based on specialised historic experiences and the unique context of the dimension of international relations and topography.

Nepal had played a historic role in the formulation and development of the law of the sea that ensures the right of unhindered transportation for landlocked countries, she said.

Nepal had advocated the right to transportation for all landlocked countries in the globe based on the guidelines of the international law apart from taking concrete initiatives to ensure its access to sea through friendly nations, she stated while thanking all friendly nations for their support in this regard. 'Today's world order should be based on rules. Moreover, it should be based on justice. I want the conference to discuss the issue substantially,' she mentioned.

Nepal is committed to the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the bilateral and multilateral treaties and conventions it has signed and their implementation, the president reminded.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 31, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.