skip to main content


Download Letter [PDF]

Letter to UN High-Level Mission to Nepal

Letter to UN High-Level Mission to Nepal

25 July 2006

Dear Ambassador De Mistura,

On the occasion of the high-level United Nations team to Nepal to discuss United Nations assistance in the peace process, the NGOWG would like to echo the wide concern that women have not been present at the peace negotiating table. Any reconstruction plan for Nepal will not be complete without the equitable participation of women and their inclusion in the design, delivery and evaluation of all development programs and plans.

The NGOWG, along with the signers of the Open Letter regarding Nepal to the UN Secretary General from the Wilton Park Conference on Security Council Resolution 1325, respectfully urges the mission to implement the resolution by:

  • Ensuring equal representation of women in all formal peace negotiations, and maintaining support for their involvement until the peace accord in implemented.
  • Appointing a gender advisor to assist in formal peace processes.
  • Ensuring the appointment of women as special envoys and mediators to assist in negotiation processes.
  • Mobilizing financial and technical resources to convene a women's peace congress to bring together women from all sides of the conflict, especially women's human rights advocates to ensure full compliance of international law and gender equality commitments in the political transformation process in Nepal.

We also encourage the mission to meet with key women's organizations working in this field. In order to facilitate this, we are attaching contact information for these groups. They can provide firsthand, field level expertise and recommendations that we believe will greatly benefit the United Nations and help promote its work.

For meaningful and effective dialogue to take place, leading representatives from these women's organizations must also be included in joint meetings with United Nations, military, and governmental actors. It is our hope that the high-level United Nations team to Nepal will set this example for others to follow.

Sincerely yours,

Gina Torry, Coordinator
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security