Martin underscores need for unity of democratic forces

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Nepal Ian Martin has highlighted  the need for strengthened unity among all democratic forces in Nepal in order to sustain the peace process.

Addressing Dalit Women's National Conference organized by Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) in capital city Kathmandu today, Martin said Political parties needed to reach out in dialogue to civil society and to traditionally marginalized groups to build participatory framework to strengthen the peace process.

Martin who is also a chief of United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) said the conference on 'Dalit Women’s Participation and Representation in Building a New Nepal' organized by FEDO represented an issue that UNMIN was raising.

Martin stressed on the need of including people of dalit comminuty both men and women in public and political life.

Quoting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's note to the Security Council, prior to the establishment of UNMIN, Martin said if Nepal failed to meaningfully include traditionally marginalized groups in the peace process and in the election, and in the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly, the country would lose a crucial opportunity to harness the strength and vision of its own people and leave some of the key underlying causes of the conflict unaddressed.