Kathmandu, July 28:

A team of Nepali delegates, who took part in the People’s SAARC meeting 2008, will hand over a memorandum to official delegates of Nepal for the 15th SAARC summit.

The summit will be held in Colombo from August 2 to 3. The memorandum raises several issues pertaining to poverty, environmental degradation, food and fuel crisis and militarisation, nuclear threat, human rights and lasting peace in the South Asian region.

After participating in the meeting held between July 18 and 20 in Colombo, the team called SAARC member states to draft alternative people-friendly economic policies, make multinational companies accountable, reduce defence spending and adopt a uniform comprehensive human rights convention.

SAARC nations agreed to establish a common identity based on history and diversity in the region, the team said. The team suggested free movement of people in the region and condemned the “self-centred” war launched by the United States on terror. It also called on member states to guarantee workers’ rights as enshrined by the ILO convention and the UN declaration.