Significant Pledge

United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, is in Nepal on a four-day official visit – an evidence that the UN has accorded high priority to the Himalayan country. Clearly, this is the most opportune time to roll out measures to address our long-standing issues. Among them the grave threat of climate change stands out.

The top UN official has pledged to draw the global attention to the climate change impacts in Nepal. During the visit he is slated to visit the Annapurna Sanctuary in the Annapurna massif and Syangboche in Solukhumbu to see first-hand the ravages of climate change. Our mountains, which are losing their snow at an alarming rate, can serve as the glaring examples of the unsettling consequences of climate change.  

The government, for its part, must seize on this opportunity, which can very well yield significant outcomes in our favour. Making concrete steps to unlock the United Nations' "loss and damage" fund should be high on the agenda. The fund is meant to provide compensation for poor nations suffering the impact of climate change. There is no denying that climate change is not of our making, so it mustn't bear the brunt of it. Rich nations that share the most blame must pay for their roles and for the damages inflicted on the climate-vulnerable countries. Climate change has robbed the livelihoods and endangered countless lives, threatening to reverse the developmental gains made through decades-long effort.

Importantly, the UN chief has pledged support to help bring the transitional justice process to a logical conclusion through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Investigation Commission of the Disappeared Persons. Righting the wrongs and delivering justice to the victims is critical to bring lasting peace to the victims, their families and communities. There have been calls from the victims of the insurgency as well as from the international community that the justice must put victims at the centre, and serious human rights abusers must get no amnesty.

There must be no blanket amnesty, either. To ensure this, the role of the UN is crucial, since it is, arguably, the most trusted organisation with no parallels. The UN has historically brought warring parties in several countries to the negotiation table to end the seemingly intractable conflict and restore lasting peace. We should, too, be able to do the same, and that opportunity right now is at our doorstep.

Having to disproportionately endure the global events that have nothing to do with us is another issue that needs lasting solution. The runaway inflation in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war has hit hardest those in the global south. The weakening currency against the USD has not only made it harder to repay the loans, but also cover the cost of necessities. If things remain unchanged, a big chunk of our budget goes to paying off the debt.

This can have grave economic consequences. We'll be left with little or no money for development, infrastructure building, and even for addressing the basic needs. We believe the UN's effort to address this emerging problem can go a long way to disentangle us from the debt trap and insulate us from such eventualities.