UN Interagency Rehabilitation Programme supports the rehabilitation of the under age and late joining Maoist personnel.

Background

The ten year long armed conflict between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the Nepali government officially ended in November 2006 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA). Soon after the Maoist army and their weapons were cantoned across 28 sites in Nepal.

The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), with support from UNDP, then led the verification of combatants in the cantonment sites and identified 19,602 of them as members of the Maoist army, 2,973 as minors on the date of the ceasefire (25 May 2006), and 1,035 as late recruits. A total of 4,008 verified minors and late recruits (VMLR), were therefore ineligible to remain in the cantonments as members of the Maoist army.Following protracted negotiations and advocacy and the unilateral decision of the Maoists to proceed with the discharge process, in December 2009 an action plan was signed between the Maoists and the government for the discharge and rehabilitation of the ineligible combatants.In January–February 2010, 2,394 VMLRs were discharged from the cantonments and briefed on their entitlements and how to access the rehabilitation options (see photos). The 1,614 absent VMLRs were discharged in absentia.

UNDP, through its Assistance to the Peace Process in Nepal project (2007–2011), supported this discharge process and the country’s immediate peacebuilding needs with funding from DFID, Norway and UNDP. Another UNDP important initiative was the advisory support to the Government of Nepal to establish and manage the multi-donor Nepal Peace Trust Fund. From 2007 to 2010, this fund mobilised $40.5 million for building and running the cantonments, holding the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections and rehabilitating internally displaced people.

The rehabilitation programme

Upon completion of the discharge of the VMLRs, the Government of Nepal requested the UN to facilitate their rehabilitation into civilian life. From mid-2010, building on the successful inter-agency collaboration during the discharge, the United Nations Inter-agency Rehabilitation Programme has been supporting the rehabilitation process. UNIRP’s main objective is to support the transition of the discharged VMLRs from military to civilian life by providing them with training and education for them to access employment and livelihood opportunities.

UNDP coordinates the management of this programme and manages its five regional offices and the vocational skills training and micro-enterprise development options. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) manages the education and psychosocial counselling and peacebuilding activities, while the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides health-related training and coordinates gender specific support, with the International Labour Organization (ILO) building the capacity of the service providers and providing information on the jobs market. Donors fund the programme through the UN Peace Fund Nepal.

By December 2011, 2,689 (67%) of the 4,008 dischargees had contacted the programme’s toll free phone to learn about the rehabilitation options. Most of them (2,460) have gone on to receive career counselling and 2,384 of them have opted for one of the four available rehabilitation options:

• vocational skills training
• micro-enterprise development
• health-related training and education
• formal or non-formal education.

These options remained on offer until 31 July 2011, by which time 2,149 VMLRs had enrolled in one of them. By December 2011, 1,040 participants had completed one of these options and 565 of them have been either self-employed or employed. 2% of participants have dropped out.

Vocational skills training — By December 2011, 396 participants had completed vocational skills training and a further 39 were in training. They were initially provided with literacy and numeracy training to enable them to meet the entry criteria for embarking on their 4 to 11 month-long courses on their chosen subject. This was followed by on-the-job-training to apply their new skills in real work settings. Following graduation, the programme has helped them in the challenging task of finding work, monitors their progress and provides them career counselling and mentoring support. The Indian cooking course has been the most popular option

Micro-enterprise development— By December 2011, 643 participants had graduated and a further 507 were undertaking the micro-enterprise option. These participants first received an 11 day business induction course to equip them with the basic skills to start and run a small business. Following this they took part in one to three month skill training courses on the enterprise type of their chose. After producing an approved business plan they received 30,000–40,000 rupees of in-kind benefits as start-up support. From then on they have access to business counselling, mentoring and monitoring support, refresher trainings and help with accessing credit to expand their businesses. The most popular options have been tailoring and mobile phone repairing.

Education—By December 2011, 425 participants were pursuing the education option and one of them has completed. Education is provided through government run schools. Education support includes admission fee, annual school fee, school dress, stationaries, and monthly stipend.

Health Training—By December 2011, 58 participants were pursuing health related training and education option while two participants have so far dropped out. This option offers a 15 to 18 month course which includes institutional training and three month On-the-Job Training (OJT).

Employment— By December 2011, 60% of all graduates had found employment or had established their own businesses. Towards getting even more participants into employment the programme is encouraging the business community and potential employers in all five regions to employ programme participants — a challenging task given the background of the participants.

Other support

• The programme also supports participants with special needs. It provides childcare and nutritional support for women participants with young children and extra support to dischargees suffering from physical health and psychological problems.
• UNIRP provides psychosocial support to participants and their immediate families including referring them for specialised treatment and care.
• In association with UNICEF many dischargees have taken part in youth mentoring and peacebuilding events where they have learned how to build trust, deal with stress and return to civilian lives.A key part of these programmes is to engage with communities and gain their support for the rehabilitation process and the return of dischargees to civilian life.

Importance of this project towards achieving the MDGs

The future of the former Maoist combatants is one of the most complex, challenging and important issues to settle for the successful completion of Nepal’s peace process. The settlement of this issue is therefore crucial for a sustainable peace that will accelerate progress towards achieving the MDGs.

Contacts