Kathmandu, November 14:

Officials at the UN Headquarters in New York are holding urgent discussions to soon mandate and prepare a mission for its proposed role to monitor the management of arms in Nepal.

“Urgent discussions are taking place in New York to mandate and prepare the mission,” said a press release issued by the office of Ian Martin, personal representative of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

It said that UN experts in logistics and communications have arrived in Nepal to assist planning for the UN mission to support the peace process. The experts have already joined the teams visiting proposed cantonment sites yesterday.

“At this stage there is no schedule for the arrival of more personnel,” the release said. According to UN officials here, negotiations have begun on a tripartite agreement — between the UN, the government and the CPN-Maoist — on the modalities for the management of arms and armed personnel.

Recently Martin had clarified that UN would need an agreement on detailed modality of arms management to plan its mission for the proposed role of credible monitoring of the management of arms and constituent assembly elections.

A UN team led by General Jan Erik Wilhemsen has travelled with a joint team of the representatives of the government, the Nepali Army and the CPN-Maoist’s People’s Liberation Army to inspect cantonment sites proposed by the PLA. The joint team visited Kailali and Surkhet today. It visited Rolpa and Palpa yesterday, Ilam on Saturday, Sindhuli and Kavre on Sunday.