Kathmandu, December 11:

The UN technical assessment mission has begun its work of assessing all the needs for setting up a full UN mission to support the peace process in Nepal, according to UN officials.

It is also planning in detail for establishing such a mission throughout this week.

“It will prepare a detailed report for the Secretary-General, who will then present it to the Security Council a full plan for a mission to support the peace process here for the Council’s approval,” Kieran Dwyer, the spokesperson for the mission, said in a statement.

The mission’s report is likely to be presented at the Security Council in early January. The Security Council indicated in the Presidential Statement of December 1 that this would be called a political mission.

The team of 35 monitors of arms and armies, and the 25 electoral advisers, are already being recruited as an advance team for the new peace support mission. The mission headed by the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Representative, Ian Martin, includes members from the UN staff from Martin’s office and senior staff of UN offices and agencies already in Nepal, and also from staff sent by UN headquarters in New York.

According to the spokesperson, more than half of the Mission team are thus UN staff based in Nepal. The mission is made up of the working groups having military, electoral, civil-political affairs and human rights, police, public information, demining, security, logistics or mission support, and cross-cutting issues of gender and child protection.

The working groups will conduct meetings with relevant government and CPN-Maoist representatives, and with civil society groups. The teams will also travel to some regional centres, including some cantonment sites, especially to assess logistical needs.