<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058629c7e80680e0ce19djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1972" height="1791"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>Just before local elections in May, a survey of young Nepalis of voting age showed that 75% felt that the impact of global climate breakdown on the Himalaya should be a political priority for candidates.That survey by the <a href="https://avnicenter.org/">Avni Centre for Sustainability</a> has relevance for federal and provincial elections also because more than half the voters are in the 18-40 age group. However, many in that cluster are among the 4 million Nepalis working and living abroad and are not able to vote.Still, past surveys have shown that environmental concerns like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/happy-new-air/">air pollution</a>, solid waste management and the climate crisis top the list of main concerns of younger Nepalis. And despite the main leaders of the main parties being senior citizens, 90% of the candidates are below 60, and an unprecedented 41% are under 40 years, and 10% are below 30.Therefore, candidates who understand the concerns of young voters will be the ones whose political futures will be secure. Repeatedly-elected politicians who have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hiding-their-head-in-the-sand/">mined our rivers</a> to destruction, illegally <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/thinking-locally-acting-locally/">quarried mountains</a> and logged forests, and plundered Nepal’s natural resources can be swept away by these elections.Their political future is threatened by a future generation of Nepali votes.The time has come for Nepal’s politicians to regard the climate crisis not as a problem, but an opportunity. Similarly, voters must also use the chance that comes every five years to reward candidates who are most likely to act on helping Nepalis cope with erratic weather caused by climate change.We need to vote in leaders who understand not just the environmental aspects of climate breakdown, but also the economic and political roots that determine fossil fuel use and consumption patterns.Scientists have warned that we just have 5-8 years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of the climate emergency. The politicians we elect on 20 November will be in office for another five years, by which time things will have got much worse.At COP27 that ends this week in Egypt, world leaders will have to implement pledges they made in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature rise to only 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Global warming has already crossed the 1.1C threshold. At the rate emissions are rising, it looks like global average temperatures will be at least 2.8C by the end of this century – driving many species to extinction and melting two-thirds of what is left of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-sink-or-swim-for-the-himalaya/">Himalayan glaciers.</a>Climate denialism is not as widespread in Nepal as some other countries, either because of the lack of awareness or unavailable alternatives to fossil fuel use. There is also a tendency to use the climate crisis as an excuse to beg for money to tackle it, even when there are a lot <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-struggles-to-balance-nature-and-industry/">of low-hanging fruits</a> that Nepal can pick to reduce its carbon footprint.While we blame industrialised nations for historical emissions, they are watching Nepal’s actions like <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nation-road-from-nowhere-to-nowhere,549">haphazard road-building</a> that has affected drainage and unleashed landslides, mining of rivers and mountains, destruction of watersheds, over-extraction of groundwater, rampant dumping of waste into rivers and forests, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/no-smoke-without-fire-in-kathmandu/">open garbage burning</a>. That is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/which-loss-and-damage/">real ‘loss and damage’</a> that Nepal should address first.At last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-cop26-nepals-real-work-now-begins/">Prime Minister Deuba pledged</a> that Nepal would be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2045. But as soon as he returned to Kathmandu, he actively backed a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nijgads-green-runway/">white elephant airport project</a> that was being heard in the Supreme Court and that would have destroyed a large swathe of Tarai native forest. We say one thing, we do another.Nepalis will benefit from decarbonisation: by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/solution-to-pollution/">reducing air pollution,</a> lessening our <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/waste-to-value-with-biogas-in-nepal/">dependence on petroleum imports</a>. Protecting forests, greening cities, promoting organic agriculture, conserving groundwater, cleaning up rivers and soil, will ultimately benefit Nepalis and improve their quality of life.Environment-friendly, green and sustainable policies will mend the economy and safeguard society. Nepal can be a model for meeting carbon negative goals, but for that we need to rapidly replace fossil fuels with hydro, solar and wind energy and prevent further forest destruction.That will be our contribution to help the global effort to address the climate emergency, but the immediate benefits will be enjoyed by this and future generations of Nepalis.Shilshila Acharya is with the <a href="https://avnicenter.org/">Avni Centre for Sustainability</a>, a non-profit and <a href="https://avniventuresnepal.com/">Avni Ventures</a>, a waste management company based in Kathmandu. Read Also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/global-crisis-local-solutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global crisis, local solutions</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/walking-the-talk-on-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Walking the talk on climate</a>, Sonia Awale

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Election climate in Nepal

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1809c7e80680e08f8b9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="880" height="864"/>That Nepal’s political leadership does not care about the health of its people is abundantly clear from its handling of the Covid-19 crisis. However, they do not seem to worry even about their own health.In the past months, they have been attending crowded indoor meetings without adequate precautions against the coronavirus. And Kathmandu’s worsening air pollution crisis, which the politicians have done nothing to address, also affects their lungs.On Wednesday morning, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was in the maroon ‘Hazardous’ range in Singha Darbar (380), Minister’s Quarters in Pulchok (380) and the official residence of the president at Shital Nibas (360).The air quality in the seats of power was in fact worse than in other parts of the capital – Kalanki intersection had an AQI of 320. Generally, the western edges of the Valley have relatively better air quality because of prevailing winds.Between 8-9AM on 6 January Nepali Times reporters fanned out across the city with ambient air quality monitoring kits to measure pollution levels. At every point, the combined US AQI readings were much above 300 -- more than 10 times higher than what the WHO regards as safe. (See map)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O09yyIejAlsAQI measurements:Patan Dhoka: 380Kupondole: 430Bagmati bridge: 450Tripureshwor: 450Teku: 420Kalimati: 455Balkhu: 320Kalanki: 320Swayambhu: 340Balaju: 370Maharajgunj: 360US Embassy: 360Shital Niwas: 355Japanese Embassy: 310Lazimpat: 330Thamel: 330Darbar Marg: 350Tudikhel: 370Singha Darbar: 380Maitighar: 390Naya bus park: 330This is a measurement of the concentration of tiny particles in the air, including really harmful ones less than <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics">2.5 microns in diameter</a>, which can lodge deep in the lungs, and are small enough to enter the bloodstream.The results show that although AQI had improved after surpassing a record 500 on 4-5 January, it was still at extremely harmful levels on Wednesday morning. In fact, in Kopundole, Tripureswor and Kalimati, AQI recorded levels above 450.By afternoon, bright sunshine and a fresh westerly breeze helped blow the smog away. Kathmandu was emitting pollution, it was just that the dirty air was being exported to districts to the east. From there, much of it was transported up the mountains for the soot to be deposited on Himalayan glaciers, making them melt even faster.Despite the majestic view of Langtang and Dorje Lakpa to the north, AQI in Patan still hovered between 200-300 on Wednesday afternoon. At one point, a neighbour set fire to refuse and the AQI spiked to 450 within minutes.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1829c7e80680e08f8bajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3392" height="2316"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“People are blaming weather for poor air quality, but we are polluting the air throughout the year. On Monday and Tuesday, the pollutants were trapped and had nowhere to go,” says clean air activist Bhushan Tuladhar.Experts say that Monday and Tuesday’s exceptionally bad air quality in Kathmandu only stood out because it was visible. Open fires, brick kilns, vehicular emission, last week’s wildfires in the mountains, and cross-border industrial smog combined with winter inversion <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-air-pollution-hits-record-high/">trapped pollutants</a> in the bowl-shaped Valley.Back in May, for the first time in many years, Mt Everest at a distance of 200km <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/when-the-air-is-clean/">was visible from Kathmandu</a>. One factor was zero vehicular emissions and brick kilns shutting because of the lockdown.Kathmandu’s air pollution is a clear indication of governance failure. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/">Corruption in emission checks</a> for green stickers, the lack of political will to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/brick-factories-still-using-old-polluting-technology,2078">relocate brick kilns</a>, and the inability of the municipalities to control <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q=garbage+burning">garbage burning</a>.Last year, the Cabinet decided that it would declare a health emergency if AQI exceeded 300 and take measures to reduce vehicles on the roads. If it followed its own rules, the government should declare an emergency every day to protect public health.However, the ruling Nepal Communist Party has been in a crisis ever since Prime Minister K P Oli dissolved the Lower House on 20 December, and called for snap polls. The government is too preoccupied to pay attention to the double whammy of Covid-19 and air pollution.“This is a grave threat to public health, the government should have declared an emergency and taken urgent measures to curb pollution,” says Bhushan Tuladhar.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1859c7e80680e08f8bbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="3000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This week, all major newspapers, radio stations and tv shows for the first time made air pollution their main news headline. But as blue skies returned, people were back on the streets oblivious to still-high pollution levels.And this was just the particles in the air, there are also poisonous invisible gases like carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxide and surface ozone. Studies have shown that most of these gases are emitted by motorcycles and scooters, of which there are 1.5 million in Kathmandu Valley alone and more are being added every day.Most Kathmandu residents are now wearing masks to protect themselves from both Covid-19 as well as particulates in the air, but masks cannot filter highly poisonous gases like carbon monoxide.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1899c7e80680e08f8bcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1575" height="1181">During the AQI measurement trip on Wednesday, all the sources of pollution were visible: garbage burning by the banks of the Vishnumati, cargo trucks at Kalanki spewing putrid black smoke, people warming hands by a roadside fire, dust rising from sidewalks.The problem with Kathmandu’s air quality is not so much the spike that happened on two days this week, but long-term exposure to dangerously high levels of pollution. A 2018 WHO report said such sustained exposure to dirty air could <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/air-pollution-decreases-life-span,3999">reduce average lifespans by nearly four years</a>. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/double-whammy-air-pollution-and-covid-19/">State of Global Air</a> report said air pollution was directly responsible for 42,100 deaths in Nepal in 2019.During the lockdown, there was sharp fall in the number of people with chronic respiratory illnesses, and it looked like masks and distancing to prevent Covid-19 protected many from other infections.But Raju Pangeni, pulmonary specialist at HAMS Hospital says the numbers went up as winter set in, and vehicles returned to the streets. He says, “In the last two months we are back to nearly as many patients as we did this time of the year.”There are solutions to the Kathmandu’s worsening air quality. The municipalities have not been able to relocate <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=bead8272edd0f2143&amp;q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/brick-factories-still-using-old-polluting-technology,2078&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjyk8-dvojuAhXNhOYKHe8CAI0QFjAAegQIAhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Mh3MaSj1qbZh8PvhZrbXV">brick kilns</a>, or promote alternative building materials. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/">Green stickers</a> can be ‘bought’ under the counter for Rs1,000, and there is no control of open garbage burning.Prime Minister Oli promised that foreigners would come to Nepal to “breathe clean air”. Not likely. Two years ago, he pledged to make 20% of vehicles in Nepal battery-powered by 2020, that deadline has come and gone. In fact, Oli’s favourite finance minister <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-electric-shock-to-nepals-energy-future/">hiked the tax on electric cars</a> in last year’s budget.“Air pollution is a long-term problem that needs policy level change. It should go hand in hand with education and awareness which are the precursors to clean air,” says Shisir Sharma of the group Dhristi Kathmandu that has been monitoring air quality since 2016.The good news is that this week’s pollution emergency has increased public concern about the health risks, especially <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-will-get-worse-before-it-gets-better/">its links with Covid-19</a>. Demand for battery-operated vehicles will rise if there is a tax rebate, and room air purifiers are flying off the shelves.Says Bhushan Tuladhar: “People have a choice to ride Safa tempo, or bicycle. Brick kilns can be cleaner. Truck emissions can be controlled.  There is a solution to pollution.”

Sonia Awale

Dirty politics = Dirty air

Jazz as healing music

7:30pm Tuesday, 9 September.&nbsp; I was driving my daughter back from a relative’s house in Baneswar where she had taken refuge after a curfew was declared the previous day while she was in school. She was riding pillion on the back of my moped. We drove past Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-8-september-massacre">where 19 people had been killed by police </a>the previous day. We passed Thapathali, where the Kantipur highrise was on fire. The sky had gone dark, and the stinging smoke made it hard to breathe. A gas cylinder exploded, and the crowd dispersed briefly. The blast provided a moment to escape the raging mob. By myself I may not have been so scared, but my daughter’s safety made me more afraid. I had never been this frightened in my journalism career, even while covering the Maoist insurgency 20 years ago. At the Tripureswor intersection there were more angry crowds. The further we got from the epicentre of the GenZ demonstration, the more elderly the protesters looked. Many were muscular gentlemen with tattooed arms. Prime Minister K P Oli had just <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">resigned</a>, but the crowd was still chanting “के पी चोर, देश छोड”. Soon, we were surrounded by an enraged mob. &nbsp;My survival instinct took over, and I started shouting “के पी चोर” and my plucky daughter screamed from behind “देश छोड”. Father and daughter waved at the &nbsp;protesters, and gave them a thumbs up. &nbsp;We finally got home, scared and smelling of burning rubber and smoke.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251007031028_c5c04095cdb6f0b24cdc2cc60bf627f49c15e0cf9b509ad149df35a2e73e1d3f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251007031028_c5c04095cdb6f0b24cdc2cc60bf627f49c15e0cf9b509ad149df35a2e73e1d3f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Reporter's diary of 8-9 September"> <figcaption>A building in Baneswar was damaged by protesters. </figcaption> </figure>  ARSON AND LOOTING I was born in the remote mountains of western Nepal in Rukum, the district that was the stronghold of the Maoist guerrillas after they launched an armed struggle in 1996. I moved to Kathmandu for higher studies, and as a student witnessed the popular uprising of 2006 against Gyanendra’s absolute monarchy. I have covered violence and chaos. I have been caught in the crossfire between the rebels and state security. I covered the violent <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-historic-youth-dissensus">street protests</a> of the 2006 People’s Movement that ended the war, the Madhes movement and the Indian blockade of 2015.&nbsp; But never was I more scared than during the 30-minute drive home through the city with my daughter at the back of my moped.&nbsp; Last month’s protests were initially led by youth groups which had loosely banded together as GenZ to protest corruption and impunity. On 8 September, I drove to the Mandala in my trusty moped to cover the rally, some protesters were in school uniform. There was singing and chanting. Just before noon, a slightly older group of protesters peeled off from the sit-in in front of Everest Hotel, broke through the half-hearted police cordon and moved towards the intersection outside Parliament. Most of the original young demonstrators remained at the sit-in, while the grownup protesters who were clearly not a part of the GenZ, started to break the perimeter wall of the Parliament complex. The young protesters looked a bit confused about what to do next as they also neared the Parliament gates. Violence was not a part of their plan, and the infiltration had begun in earnest. A group of organised older rioters broke through the western wall, even as police were concentrated along the main south gate. These agitators seemed focused on a single mission: to burn down the Parliament building, and they went about it purposefully.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251007031032_1fcd474774c8e110e833485cf54a7e63e8c8388ec78c2b4d3ae6e830c203c183.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251007031032_1fcd474774c8e110e833485cf54a7e63e8c8388ec78c2b4d3ae6e830c203c183" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Reporter's diary of 8-9 September NT"> <figcaption>Blood seen in Baneswar.</figcaption> </figure>  Too late, the police used water cannons to disperse those by the south gate. I went closer, my press card dangling from my neck. A tear gas canister whizzed past my head. I was not able to see clearly, and backed away to safety. The police opened fire at point blank range, killing 19 protesters. Hundreds of injured were carried to the nearby Civil Hospital. There are many video clips on social media of task force police kneeling, taking aim with SLR rifles and shooting, they show protesters being hit and falling. The riot police fled, and the Armed Police Force and Nepal Army soldiers came out, but remained close to the trucks that had transported them to the intersection. Seeing that the security forces were not stopping them, the crowd then went on an arson rampage — it became a free-for-all as government buildings were set on fire one after another. Most of the arsonists were not GenZ, they were in the mid-30s, and I heard many shouting slogans for the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/why-the-monarchy-still-sways-nepal-s-republic"> restoration of the monarchy</a>. Others were there simply to vandalise and loot. After having chased the police away from the Parliament building, they posted pictures and videos, having the run of the premises, instigating new arrivals to continue with the arson, and also brandishing looted automatic weapons. A curfew was declared, but this did not stop the rampage throughout that evening and into the night. Unable to return home, I spent the night in a friend’s office, and returned to the Parliament area the next morning. The black asphalt was dyed red with blood. Shoes, slippers and pieces of clothing littered the street. The next day, 9 September the much-feared and expected revenge attacks ignited. There was hope that the Army would be able to protect government buildings and provide public security, but the arson, vandalism and looting went unchecked — even when the seats of government were set on fire. The military did make an appearance, but only after 10pm to enforce the curfew, but by then the mob had already gone home.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251007031032_578cfa7c9e56f6ffcf1ca9b148e114a87b5332268cf97720584b70906823c074.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20251007031032_578cfa7c9e56f6ffcf1ca9b148e114a87b5332268cf97720584b70906823c074" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Reporter's diary of 8-9 September NT"> <figcaption>A protester receiving treatment at Civil Hospital.</figcaption> </figure>  That was the moment I asked myself: Where have the students gone? Has the GenZ movement been hijacked? I could not see any of the GenZ-ers anywhere on 9 September. It was around midday of 9 September that millennials, including from groups like Hami Nepal came forward to the media, claiming to speak for the GenZ. They claimed to have led the protests. Others claiming to be GenZ said they were for the restoration of the monarchy, but they did not look the age.&nbsp; Mobs were out of control, burning down the prime minister’s office, the Supreme Court, the CIAA and the official and private residences of ministers. Within 27 hours Nepal became a country without a government, and leaders without homes. Important official documents went up in flames with the buildings that housed them. PM Oli resigned, too late to save the day. The Army occupied itself airlifting ministers from their official residences. Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba were dragged out, beaten up and their home set on fire. They were rescued and taken to an army base. It became hard to tell over the next few days if the Army was providing them security, or keeping them incommunicado in detention. The Army was negotiating with GenZ as well as pro-monarchists at its headquarters, but moved the talks to President Ram Chandra Paudel’s office on 11 September.&nbsp; Former chief justice Sushila Karki was nominated interim head of government by GenZ delegates voting on Discord, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/march-to-5-march">mandated to hold elections</a> on 5 March.&nbsp; Will that happen? Things are too fluid at the moment. And my mind is still reeling from the fear and panic of that moped ride with my daughter through rampaging mobs. Did all that really happen in front of my eyes, or was it just a nightmare?&nbsp; Bhadra Sharma is a reporter for The New York Times based in Kathmandu.

Reporter's diary of 8-9 September

The annual United Nations General Assembly is always an occasion for taking stock of the state of the world. But this year, on the 80th anniversary of the UN’s founding, it was also an occasion to take stock of the organisation itself.
By any measure, the UN’s situation is dire. While Russian aggression against Ukraine and mounting tensions between the United States and China cannot be blamed on the UN, they do highlight a fundamental problem. The UN Security Council – where China, Russia, and the US each wield a veto – is locked in a permanent confrontation over one issue or another, blocking the rest of the organisation from moving forward on almost anything.
Consider the situation in the Middle East, where the UN has played a central role in conflict resolution and peacemaking ever since the State of Israel was established (under a UN resolution). Numerous UN peacekeeping operations in the region have helped to alleviate tensions, and massive humanitarian efforts, primarily aimed at Palestinian refugee communities, have saved countless lives. While the UN has not forged a lasting peace, it has certainly helped prevent some wars and shorten others.
In recent years, however, the UN has increasingly been sidelined. The so-called Quartet – the UN, the US, the European Union, and Russia – is now a distant memory, and numerous UN operations have come under direct attack, primarily by Israel. The Israeli government not only questions the humanitarian efforts of UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) but now also blocks the organisation’s work whenever it can.
Before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the UN was essential to keeping the situation in Gaza relatively stable. Though it couldn’t overcome divisions among the Palestinians, especially after Hamas assumed power in Gaza in 2006, it could, and did, help provide the basic means of survival for the enclave’s two million people. But now Israel has questioned or attacked virtually every aspect of the UN’s work on this issue, and it could not have done so without America’s tacit support. US President Donald Trump, in particular, has proved willing to accept virtually everything that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s extremist government does.
Meanwhile, the UN has struggled to mobilise an effective response in South Sudan, a semi-failed state, and in Sudan, where a devastating civil war is entering its third year. Similarly, from the Katanga secession in 1960-63 to the recent peace operations in northeastern Congo, Central Africa continues to preoccupy UN peacekeepers and mediators.
Around the world, there is no shortage of crises that demand UN engagement – from Gaza and Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, and Afghanistan, to name just a few. But with the larger powers fixated on their confrontations with one another, and with the Trump administration withdrawing not only active support but also funding, the outlook for the UN appears grim.
The US provides 25% of UN funding, but it has <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/united-nations-must-adapt-or-die-by-adekeye-adebajo-2025-09" target="_blank">stopped</a> sending its contributions. It also traditionally accounts for an even larger share of voluntary financing for humanitarian operations, but these funds, too, have been cut. Making matters worse, China, the UN’s second-largest contributor, is also behind on its payments.
With its financial situation growing desperate, UN Secretary-General <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/antonio-guterres" target="_blank">António Guterres</a> warns that staff across the organisation will need to be cut by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/18/united-nations-un-2026-budget-job-losses-us-funding-cuts" target="_blank">one-fifth</a>. Morale is said to be low, as is the prospect of a change for the better. With his recent address to the General Assembly, Trump made clear that he has nothing but contempt for the organisation. The only role he seems able to see for it is to help him get a Nobel Peace Prize. The Trump administration’s forthcoming review of America’s multilateral commitments is almost certain to deliver more bad news.
Does the UN have any future? While the demand for it is as great as ever, its ability to deliver has obviously been diminished. There is no way for it to survive without scaling back its ambitions and abilities; precisely how it goes about this will be a central issue over the next few years.
With Guterres’s tenure ending in 2026, the process of selecting his successor will also have to feature a debate about ensuring the UN’s long-term survival. Moving the headquarters out of the US is a natural step, owing not only to the withdrawal of US funding and the need for cost savings, but also to the US refusal to grant visas to those attending UN gatherings (as it did with the Palestinian leadership this year).
Yes, a UN that is no longer headquartered in New York would be different in many ways. But relocation also may be the only way for it to survive. Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN’s second secretary-general, famously <a href="https://ask.un.org/faq/14623" target="_blank">remarked</a> that the body was not created to deliver Heaven, but rather to spare us from Hell. That task remains as important as ever. But for things to stay the same, everything must change. © Project Syndicate
Carl Bildt is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden.

To survive, the UN must leave the US

Already trying to balance youth demands with legal provisions in the Constitution, Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s interim government faced yet another challenge over Dasain: a receding monsoon dumped unseasonal rain unleashing floods and landslides that killed at least 60, mostly in eastern Nepal.&nbsp; The government was rated positively for its early warning and the ‘visibility’ of its disaster response, with many comparing it to the inaction of the NC-UML coalition during last year’s floods.&nbsp; Government agencies and police proactively closed off hazardous sections of highways as Kathmandu was marooned from the rest of the country in the peak holiday season. Stranded passengers were taken care of, with police, army and local governments in Ilam coordinating rescue and relief efforts. Many of the problems were structural and inherited from decades of neglect and corruption in highway contracts. Shoddy bridges and encroachment of settlements along river banks have increased risk from more frequent extreme weather caused by climate breakdown. With Dasain over Tihar around the corner and the worst of the disaster behind, the Karki administration is trying to balance the separate demands of GenZ movers and shakers who installed her in office with constitutional provisions. It has not helped that the badly-mauled political parties are spoiling for a fight, and the three top leaders show little signs of stepping down. “Nepal’s movement did not happen in a democratic vacuum, so this government walks a very fine line in political legitimacy," says Bidushi Dhungel of the National Democratic Institute in Nepal. "In this fragile space, whatever the work done — or not done— by the interim government within its limited mandate, it may open up avenues for further dissent from old and new actors. They are &nbsp;caught between a rock and a hard place.” Civil society activists issued a statement on Wednesday calling on the main political parties to heed the writing on the wall and reform themselves. Signed by professor Krishna Khanal and former ambassador Keshab Mathema, the statement said: 'The main leaders of the main parties should say sorry, and voluntarily resign ... they must respect public sentiments and work to reform and transform their parties to be more accountable to the public, or risk being irrelevant.'&nbsp; Complicating matters further are the sometimes contradictory demands of various GenZ factions on punishing those responsible for the carnage and rampage of 8-9 September, Constitution and elections. Karki faces calls to immediately detain former PM KP Oli and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak for their involvement in the massacre outside Parliament. Under pressure from GenZ delegates, Home Minister Om Aryal fired off a letter to the police to arrest Oli and Lekhak. But later at a confrontational midnight meeting at the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar, all four security chiefs advised Karki that arresting the UML and NC ex-ministers could unleash violent confrontation on the streets. The interim government is in a bind. It has formed a committee headed by Gauri Bahadur Karki to investigate the killings last month as well as the arson and vandalism that followed. The question is: should it wait for the committee to submit its report before punishing perpetrators, or let police arrest those who can easily be identified in social media posts setting fire to Singha Darbar, the Supreme Court and other sites.&nbsp; GenZ’s Sudan Gurung faction has gone beyond its original demand to submit an 8-point ultimatum that includes the sacking of the Chief Justice and officials of the anti-corruption bureau.&nbsp; The Prime Minister is caught in the crossfire between managing the expectations of a movement that appointed her, and working within the framework of her interim government’s mandate and Constitution. But it is not just the government that faces challenges. The lack of clear consensus among youth factions and their outspoken collectives is surfacing.&nbsp; &nbsp;“This has been a leaderless and decentralised movement, and the traditional variables typically seen in a political revolt seem missing here," notes political scientist Sucheta Pyakuryal. “There is no organised structure, nor any ideological pull factor, therefore a big question is how much bargaining power does a movement like this have, and how sustainable will it be.” GenZ leaders seem to be in two main camps. Demands like the one for a directly elected prime minister, and the constitutional processes that can make for such an outcome, have emerged as a major point dividing the movement.&nbsp; Nepalis both within and outside the youth movement are watching Hami Nepal’s Sudan Gurung closely — especially after his recent interview with Al-Jazeera during which he expressed his interest to run for Prime Minister and seemed to not accept a win by political parties in the March elections.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251009201044_fcba7e92bb9a8812fd0ad4e9770d6f4d4189972de5229f91e9a832a26e388901.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251009201044_fcba7e92bb9a8812fd0ad4e9770d6f4d4189972de5229f91e9a832a26e388901" data-rendition-name="original" width="2916" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="One month on NT"> <figcaption>GROUND ZERO: The destroyed centre of Nepal's government with Singha Darbar (in green scaffolding), the Attorney General's Office, Supreme Court, and in the distance, Parliament building. Also seen are the nearly finished new Parliament Complex and the new Supreme Court buildings. Drone shot taken on Thursday morning. Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Gurung’s participation in the NDRRMA’s disaster management meeting and manner of his interaction with officials at the event was met with both bouquets and brickbats. Interestingly, some of the criticism was youth activists themselves. &nbsp;“There's a lot of self-involvement and self-importance that seems to be guiding a fragmented young leadership, as opposed to constructively engaging in how to concretise reforms,” says Dhungel. “There seems to be very little stocktaking of what's happened in the past, and what's happened in other countries to try identify where lapses could be before they occur."&nbsp; In the absence of unified positions and level-headed leadership, the youth who spearheaded post-protest negotiations, as well as the GenZ movement in general, risk losing public goodwill already dented by the destruction of state property on 9 September. This also leaves an opening for political parties which are on the defensive and licking their wounds to capitalise on youth discord.&nbsp; Says Pyakuryal: “Post revolution, the political landscape becomes extremely unpredictable and therefore there is a risk of co-optation from several Machiavellian political actors including political parties, monarchists, as well as other forces, and that is concerning.” The immediate and visible transformation that Nepal’s youth expect will not manifest right away, and while there is a need for long-term political planning, the caretaker government must also undertake measures that have a palpable impact on the daily life of citizens. &nbsp;&nbsp; “While youth frustrations must be addressed urgently, statecraft isn’t just about fulfilling short-term goals,”says Pyakuryal. &nbsp; Many, including the youth themselves, now see the need for GenZ to have a more united stance and to move beyond making demands that the interim government cannot fulfil and start mobilising for elections — even by forming its own party.&nbsp; A strong showing in elections can enable them to enact the changes they want to strengthen Nepal’s democracy, and make future governments more accountable.&nbsp; This week, the Election Commission announced 16 November as the deadline to register new parties for the 5 March polls.&nbsp; Youth representatives have said that they want to be active participants in the political process, particularly in national-level politics. The Constitution defines ‘youth’ as being between the ages of 16-40. In the 2022 elections, the Election Commission stated that over 41% of locally-elected representatives were from ages 21-40 years.&nbsp; If young Nepalis are to contest the election outside the banner of mainstream parties, this leaves electoral aspirants little more than a month to decide whether to form a loose coalition with existing parties, a separate political party, or to contest elections independently. “This is first of a kind movement, where political language is digital, not ideological, where organising is done through online platforms and where there is no one leader spearheading the movement,”says Pyakuryal. “I don’t know if ‘anti-corruption’ or ‘political reform’ have a strong enough ideological pull to band people together in the long run.” Indeed, the RSP was formed only four months before the 2022 elections and cashed in on anti-incumbent and anti-corruption sentiments of voters — mainly driven by social media. But controversy and strife within their party means it has largely lost its public trust.&nbsp; Nepal’s September Uprising and its aftermath have shown that a majority of young people are entirely disillusioned with establishment parties and politicians, even using ‘ex-political parties’ as a phrase of reference. Any new young political figures that emerge from this movement and this election will have to work with mainstream parties in a multiparty democracy.&nbsp; &nbsp;“The reality of politics is that change is not possible without engaging with existing political institutions and actors,” says Dhungel. “To say that they do not want to engage, negotiate, or identify allies or proactively seek out input from at least the reform-minded individuals within each of those outfits is political naivety, and may lead to a lack of institutionalised reform.” However, Dhungel notes that the youth leadership would have more agency if they are clear not just on what they want to change, but about whether they are interested in active politics or civic engagement. “The window of opportunity that is fast closing is to really negotiate hard and push for internal reforms within political parties and across the electoral system,” she adds. Pyakurel also adds: “GenZ are smart and politically mature, I hope they see these loopholes. I am optimistic about the direction they take.”

cliamte-change

Election climate in Nepal

Dirty politics = Dirty air

Jazz as healing music

Reporter's diary of 8-9 September

To survive, the UN must leave the US

One month on