Kathmandu, January 9

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffery D Feltman wrapped up his three-day visit to Nepal alling all sides to resolve the Madhes crisis sooner than the later.

He also reiterated the United Nations’ unequivocal support to the full implementation of Nepal’s new Constitution.

He further said the ongoing turmoil in Tarai region had created a humanitarian crisis and hindered post-earthquake reconstruction campaign in the country.

“Feltman assured Nepal of the UN’s unwavering partnership in ‎its recovery from the devastating earthquakes of 2015 and also in addressing broader humanitarian and development needs,” read a statement issued at the conclusion of his visit today.

The UN political chief, who arrived here in Nepal as a special envoy of UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon on Thursday, met a number of Nepal’s political and civil society leaders, including President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Oli. He also met leaders of the ruling and opposing parties, including Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Madhes-based parties.

During these meeting, he expressed deep concern about the current developments that are adversely affecting Nepal’s humanitarian situation, economic performance and reconstruction efforts.

The UN envoy encouraged political leaders to overcome differences over constitutional arrangements through inclusive dialogue and parliamentary process and underscored the importance of rebuilding trust amongst different groups, including through agreement on the modalities of the process for delineating internal borders, according to the statement.

Before returning to New York today, he called on Nepali Congress President and former prime minister Sushil Koirala and encouraged him to reach out to all sides — both the government and the agitating Madhesi parties “as the Nepali Congress was a responsible party with its “unique position” in the Parliament and said it also had a long democratic history and experience in tackling crises.

He inquired when the three month’s time for delineation of constituencies would start and sought to know if the Madhesi parties were satisfied with the provisions of the constituent amendment bill, which is under consideration in Parliament.

“If the deadlock continues, radical elements might take advantage in Tthe arai,” Koirala’s Foreign Relations Adviser Dr Dinesh Bhattarai quoted Feltman as saying. “We wish to see if the issues can be addressed sooner than later.”

He reminded the Nepali Congress of its roles in resolving the crisis facing Nepal, according to a statement issued by Koirala’s private secretariat.

He encouraged the UDMF leadership not move away from dialogue and drew attention to the UN’s serious concern about the severe humanitarian crisis in the country due to the disruption at the border.