The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) said Tuesday that newly announced plans for recruitment by the Nepal and the Maoist armies would go against the 2006 peace accord. "UNMIN's position remains that any recruitment by either the Nepal Army or the Maoist army constitutes a breach of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA)," dpa quoted UNMIN as saying in a press statement Tuesday evening. Under the AMMAA provisions, which reflect the provisions of the original Ceasefire Code of Conduct, both parties agreed "not to recruit new people," UNMIN said. The Maoists' People's Liberation Army (PLA) was brought under the supervision of the UN after the Maoists signed the Comprehensive Peace Accord with the government in November 2006, ending a decade- long insurgency. About 19,000 Maoist combatants live in encampments spread across the Himalayan nation, monitored by the UN. Three days ago, the Nepal army announced vacancies for 3,464 positions after the Supreme Court cleared legal hassles related to the recruitment drive. The recruitments had been suspended following an interim stay order issued by the Supreme Court in December 2008 over a controversy with the Maoists. In response, the Maoists earlier Tuesday announced a call for fresh recruitments in the PLA. Deputy Commander of the PLA Chandra Prakash Khanal told a press conference in Kathmandu that they would go ahead with their plan of recruiting if the Nepal army does not withdraw its recruitment effort. Khanal said they plan to increase the PLA numbers to just over 30,000, up from the current 19,000. UNMIN insisted that any proposed recruitment be referred for approval to the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee, which comprises representatives of the Nepal army, the Maoists and the government. UNMIN has also written to the government and the Maoists, advising them "to respect past agreements and to act in this matter with good faith towards the United Nations." UNMIN is a special political mission with the mandate of supporting the peace process in Nepal.
