New York, 22 September 2016

Your Excellency Mr. Timo Sioni, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Your Excellency Mr. Mevlut Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey

Fellow Ministers, distinguished delegates,

Let me begin by thanking Finland and Turkey for organizing this Ministerial Breakfast of the Group of Friends of Mediation. We commend your persistent leadership in favour of the role of mediation as an instrument of preventive diplomacy and peaceful settlement of disputes. I also appreciate Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, UN Under-Secretary-General for his important briefing outlining the progress made so far and a way forward in this regard.

While conflicts are prevalent in many parts of the world destroying the hopes and aspirations of millions of people, mediation can play an invaluable role to forge peace. The Chapter Six of the UN Charter puts an emphasis on the peaceful settlement of all disputes. The UN is the single largest multilateral institution which enjoys high level of legitimacy, credibility and convening power in dealing with matters of conflicts. Therefore, we have to find a way to best utilize the provisions of mediation efforts in prevention of conflicts. The recommendations of the High-level Panel on Peace Operations and efforts of the Secretariat must continue to enjoy our support.

Nepal believes that mediation should aim at long-term political solutions for the purpose of peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution. We also believe that the role of mediation should be guided by the UN Charter and international law and carried out in an impartial and just manner.

With its experience with conflicts and a successful peace process at home and in maintaining international peace and security through the UN, Nepal believes in building synergies and coherence among all stakeholders including civil society, women’s group, youth organizations, private sector and community leaders for political solution to conflicts.

On my final notes, mediation is perhaps the least utilized provision of the UN Charter, but it has immense potentials. Its objective use with the consent of the concerned stakeholders and free from any hidden political objective could serve the very purpose of the Charter.

Thank you.