KATHMANDU, OCTOER 20
Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres will be addressing the Joint House session of the parliament on October 31 for the first time in Nepal.
A Cabinet meeting decided on holding the special session for the secretary general, it is also going to be the first session of the kind in the Parliament, according to spokesperson of the Lower House, Dasharatha Dhamala.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres' visit to Nepal, which was postponed after the attack of Hamas in Israel, has been rescheduled from October 29 to November 1.
The Cabinet meeting held yesterday on October 19 approved the official programme of the United Nations Secretary General Guterres' visit to Nepal immediately after Dashain, informed the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma.
During his stay in Nepal, he is also scheduled to address the joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, according to the decision of the Cabinet yesterday.
The Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers sent a letter to the Secretariat of the Federal Parliament on October 19, informing that Secretary General Guterres will be addressing at 4:00pm on October 31, and has also asked the Houses to make the necessary arrangements for the joint session.
Assistant Spokesperson of the House of Representative Secretariat, Dasharatha Dhamala, informed THT that a letter was received from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers informing that United Nations Secretary General Guterres will address the joint session of both houses of the central government.
He also said that the secretariat has started internal preparation work for the meeting of Secretary General Guterres.
Special government officials including heads of constitutional bodies, heads of diplomatic missions in Nepal will be invited to the meeting addressed by Secretary General Guterres.
Spokesperson Dhamala expressed that the parliamentarians of the House of Representatives will be informed about the session that was called on October 29 in the Lower House meeting and a notice shall be issued for the Upper House.
"The official visit of the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres from October 29 to November 1 has been officially approved by the Council of Ministers and he is addressing the joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Parliament on Tuesday, October 31, at 4:00pm. A letter has been received by the secretariat requesting necessary arrangements for that," Spokesperson Dhamala said.
"Now, as a joint meeting is to be held for the special session of the Secretary General of the United Nations, we will make internal preparations for it." He further said, "The Secretary would probably be speaking on the topic of peacekeeping operations, Nepal's roles in the UN and vice-versa and the longstanding issues of the conflict victims issues."
Mrigendra Bahadur Karki, executive director of Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS), Tribhuvan University (TU) said that the Secretary General is going to address the session particularly on four topics: i) Peacekeeping Force, ii) Climate Change, iii) Transitional Justice and iv) Geopolitical angle of TJ.
"Nepali Army has been contributing to the UN Peacekeeping Force since 1958, It is also the second largest contributor of peacekeepers and first in the female category. Similarly, climate change is one of the global challenges the entire earth is facing, Nepal is not an exception. These two are the plausible topics that he will probably be addressing," he said.
"Likewise, Transitional Justice issues are one of the major problems in Nepal.
During the Peace Accord the UN was also involved. Hence, it would be one of the topics of priority for him to delve into. He would also look into the geo-political situation of the TJ and its impact on the victims."
Secretary General Guterres was invited by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to visit Nepal while participating in the 78th General Assembly meeting of the United Nations.
Guterres is the former prime minister of Portugal, and this is his second term as the secretary general of the United Nations.
