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Registration and Verifications of combatants and weapons 2007
Basic Information
Civil War & Peace Process in Nepal
Verification of Maoist combatants 2007
UNMIN PLA Cantonments
UNMIN's monitoring of the management of arms and armies
Kathmandu, 27 December 2007 UNMIN
The agreement promises progress on matters linked to UNMIN's monitoring of the management of arms and armies:

release of payments to Maoist combatants, discharge of those disqualified in verification by UNMIN, and deliberations in the special committee to consider the supervision, integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants.

Statement by Ian Martin
Ian Martin: The verification process was a difficult one, requiring thousands of individual interviews, and it was a rigorous one. UNMIN arms monitors, a professional military physician, UNICEF and UNDP experts were all part of the verification teams, and the interviews they conducted with Maoist personnel were extensive when they needed to be in order to make their decisions.
Since UNMIN completed its verification, I have met with Chairman Prachanda and Peace Minister Ram Chandra Poudel to discuss our cooperation regarding discharge, and I have now sent to the two sides a report on UNMIN's monitoring of arms and armies, including the final report on verification. This report will be discussed in the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee before we make it public, but in the meantime I will give you the key figures:
The corrected number of personnel registered in the first phase was 31,318.
18,923 of these personnel were verified in the second phase as members of the Maoist army.
An additional 932 persons who had not been registered in the first phase were presented for the verification process in the second phase. 679 of this total were verified as members of the Maoist army.
8,640 personnel did not appear for verification interviews in the second phase and were automatically disqualified.
4,008 persons remain to be discharged from cantonments after the total of absentees has been taken into account.
2,973 of this total were assessed to be under the age of 18 on 25 May 2006.
The full total verified as members of the Maoist army is thus 19,602,
comprising 15,756 men and 3,846 women.
Statement by Ian Martin
Question: Regarding the 8,641 who did not attend the second phase of verification. Do you have any idea, among them, how many have been involved in the YCL?

Ian Martin: We don't know. I mean, frankly, we have a little information as to where those people are at the moment. Certainly some of the child protection agencies have come across some of them back in their own communities. It may indeed be that some are now active in the YCL in their own communities or elsewhere. But we simply don't have that information.

Ian Martin: We do engage in 24-hour surveillance of weapons storage, because they are gathered together in seven sites, Maoist cantonments, and one for the Nepal Army.

The verification process was a difficult one, requiring thousands of individual interviews, and it was a rigorous one. UNMIN arms monitors, a professional military physician, UNICEF and UNDP experts were all part of the verification teams, and the interviews they conducted with Maoist personnel were extensive when they needed to be in order to make their decisions. I am proud of the work they did in executing a very demanding task - much of it during difficult monsoon conditions. And I express appreciation of the good cooperation received from the Maoist army once initial difficulties had been resolved.

Statement by Ian Martin
Ian Martin: UNMIN was not mandated to supervise the cantonments. UNMIN was mandated to monitor the management of arms and armies. The PLA commanders are exercising their responsibility to keep control of the movements of their personnel, including records as to when people are authorised to go on leave and return.
Statement by Ian Martin
Question: 4,008 are disqualified and almost 3,000 are minors. What is the criteria?

Ian Martin: We had to apply two criteria, one whether those involved were over eighteen or under eighteen on the 25th of May 2006, and secondly, whether they were recruited before or after that date. So the others are those who were assessed to have been over 18 but to have been recruited after the 25th of May 2006. Now, we also believe that a significant number of the minors were recruited after the 25 May 2006, but once someone was assessed to have been a minor it wasn't necessary to go on and apply the second criterion of date of recruitment as well.

Statement by Ian Martin
Ian Martin: The 8,640 persons were disqualified. They did not appear for verification, and were disqualified. These are people who presented themselves at the first stage of registration, from January-February onwards, but have not appeared at the second stage. And so they are no longer to be considered as part of the personnel of the Maoist army for the discussions of the future of the combatants. Now, certainly some of those we believe were people who are underage, and UNICEF is certainly concerned that they should also benefit from assistance with reintegration if they are in need of that in their communities. But they are not now part of the formal process of considering the future of the Maoist army combatants.
Source: UNMIN , December 2007
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