By IANS
Kathmandu : As the peace process in Nepal started moving forward with the UN beginning to screen Maoist combatants for child soldiers and illegal recruits, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed yet another envoy for the Himalayan nation.
UN political officer Tamrat Samuel has been named Ban Ki-moon's deputy special representative for Nepal and deputy head of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).
Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan had appointed Ian Martin as a personal representative for Nepal, who was subsequently designated as his special representative and head of the UNMIN.
Martin now has a deputy in Samuel, who was senior political affairs officer responsible for the South Asia region within the department for political affairs.
Samuel was "closely involved in the conceptualization and operationalization of the current UN role in support of the Nepalese peace process, which is being implemented by UNMIN under the leadership of the Ban's Special Representative, Ian Martin," the UN said in a statement late Wednesday.
UNMIN, a special political mission established by the Security Council in January to assist with the follow-up to the landmark peace deal in Nepal between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists, is mandated to manage the arms and combatants of the Maoists and support the crucial election planned in November.