Kathmandu

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres departed for New York from Kathmandu on Wednesday morning, officially concluding a four-day visit to Nepal.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guterres departed from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on a Qatar Airways flight this morning.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka bid him farewell at the VVIP lounge of the Tribhuvan International Airport. During his visit, Guterres engaged in a range of high-level discussions, including a notable address to a joint session of the Federal Parliament on Tuesday.

He called on the government to complete transitional justice, keeping the victims at the centre. Transitional justice has long been pending in Nepal since the Maoists entered mainstream politics, ending a decade-long insurgency that claimed thousands of lives, with the whereabouts of many victims still unknown.

You are preparing the final stages of your peace process–healing the wounds of war through transitional justice–a process that must help bring peace to victims, families and communities haunted by questions and scarred by injustice and help put the past to rest, the UN Secretary-General said. In his address from the Everest region during a visit to Nepal, he further called on the world to end the use of fossil fuels, warning of climate catastrophe if this is not done.

Commencing his visit on Sunday night, Guterres met with key figures in the Nepalese government, including President Ram Chandra Paudel, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, as well as leaders of political parties, ministers, and other dignitaries.