EU ambassadors urge making constitution on time

Kathmandu, November 06. The Ambassadors of the European Union, Switzerland and Norway have called on Nepal’s political leaders to step up their efforts in the coming months to find common ground and meet their 22 January deadline for a new Constitution.

Commending the ongoing efforts to forge cross-party agreement on the remaining contentious constitutional issues, they said this will require leadership, generosity and willingness to compromise from all.

“It is not for us to say how Nepal’s Constitution should look. That is for the Constituent Assembly of Nepal. But we do believe that the new Constitution is a crucial part of a final resolution of Nepal’s peace process, and we encourage all parties to ensure that the Constitution takes that into account,” they stated in a press release today.

As they work to find common ground, we urge all parties to ensure that the new Constitution also protects and extends fundamental human rights and freedoms to all its citizens (including equal access to citizenship rights for all Nepali children), without discrimination of any kind, including by caste, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religion, the press release reads.

Noting that the next two months are a critical time in the history of modern Nepal, the EU ambassadors said a new and lasting political settlement will open the door to the economic growth and social progress that the people crave. As longstanding friends of Nepal we very much hope to welcome such a democratic and inclusive Constitution in the New Year, the EU, Swiss and Norwegian ambassadors stated in the press release. -RSS