PEACE TALKS IN NEPAL

That this House welcomes the peace talks taking place between the warring factions in Nepal, after more than a decade of conflict; recognises that this conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of widows who are traditionally shunned in Nepal and who are a potent symbol of the conflict; further recognises the work of Lily Thapa and her Women for Human Rights single women's group which provides support to these women; notes that hundreds of women have been demonstrating outside Parliament because not a single woman is included in the draft constitution committee; further notes that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, championed by the UK Government and adopted in October 2000, calls for the participation of women in decision-making and peace processes; believes that a reconstruction plan will not be complete without the equitable inclusion of women in the design, delivery and evaluation of all development plans; and calls on the Government to press the Nepalese negotiators for proper representation of women in the talks and in the ongoing process of building a sustainable peace in Nepal.