Nepal's peace process is at a crossroads, the head of the United Nations has warned, just two weeks before the planned closure of a UN peace mission in the troubled country. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the lack of progress in the peace process that began when Nepal's bloody civil war ended more than four years ago was a "growing concern".
"Nepal's peace process is at a crossroads," Ban said in a report to the UN Security Council published in New York on Thursday. "The prolonged political deadlock that has hampered progress has become a growing concern for Nepalis and the international community alike as key timelines and deadlines approach in the coming months."
Ban said much had been achieved since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2006, ending a decade-long war between Maoist rebels and the state that killed at least 16,000 people. But he said key tasks had yet to be completed, including the drafting of a new national constitution and the integration of thousands of Maoist former fighters into the state security forces.