KATHMANDU: Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said that national ownership, inclusive state institutions and accountable governance are indispensable for building sustainable peace.
Addressing the ministerial meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, during the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Khanal presented national ownership as the foundation for building credible, legitimate and sustainable peace.
“National ownership is the indispensable basis for building credible, legitimate and sustainable peace. When society builds and leads its own peace process, reconciliation takes deep roots,” he said.
Presenting Nepal’s peace process as an example of peacebuilding rooted in national ownership, Khanal recalled that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2006, transformed the decade-long armed conflict through a nationally led peace process.
He noted that an inclusive federal democratic constitution was subsequently formulated through the process. The CPA was signed between the Government of Nepal and the then CPN (Maoist) in 2006, with the United Nations providing assistance in areas including arms management and elections.
Khanal said peacebuilding is not a process that ends at a particular point but a social compact that continues across generations.
Noting that a new generation that did not experience the conflict and is increasingly connected through digital platforms is demanding transparent governance, merit-based systems and accountable institutions, he stressed the need to make state institutions more responsive and adaptable to the expectations of younger generations.
He said democratic institutions had also demonstrated flexibility and tolerance during the Gen-Z Movement in Nepal on September 8, 2025. According to Khanal, rather than responding to the crisis through confrontation, the authorities addressed public aspirations through dialogue. Parliamentary elections were subsequently held peacefully within six months, and power was transferred to the elected government in an orderly manner.
Khanal highlighted three key principles from Nepal’s experience. First, he said, inclusive representation and national and local ownership should be strengthened. Second, credible institutions that uphold transitional justice, human rights and the rule of law should be continuously reinforced. Third, international peacebuilding assistance should be aligned with national priorities.
Stating that United Nations support for Nepal’s peace process focused on strengthening national capacity, Khanal said international assistance aligned with national priorities and capacities would be more effective than externally imposed frameworks.
He said the historical record of United Nations support for Nepal’s peace process, particularly in arms management and elections, had demonstrated the value of such an approach.
Referring to Nepal’s philosophical understanding of peace, Khanal said peace should not be viewed merely as the absence of war but as a state of balance and harmony among human beings, nature, the earth and the wider universe.
“In our ancient philosophical tradition, peace is not just the absence of war. It is understood as ‘peace’, that is, global harmony that respects the balance between all living beings, inanimate nature, the earth and the entire universe,” he said.
Khanal emphasized that the Peacebuilding Commission should promote a holistic approach to resolving differences through dialogue, guided by national ownership and supported by international solidarity.
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