Nepal to get United Nations peace-building funds

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UNITED NATIONS, Dec 29 (Reuters): The United Nations yesterday declared Nepal the first non-African country eligible to receive money from a peace-building fund set up a year ago to help countries emerging from conflict.
The Himalayan state last year ended a 10-year civil war between the government and Maoist rebels in which an estimated 13,000 people were killed. Nepal's provisional parliament voted on Friday to abolish the centuries-old monarchy and elections are due in April.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has instructed U.N. officials in Nepal to ensure money from the fund went to "priority peace process needs," a U.N. statement said.
Carolyn McAskie, a U.N. assistant secretary-general, said Nepal was chosen "because there is a pressing need to consolidate the country's peaceful gains."
The U.N. Peacebuilding Fund is intended to provide short- term aid to help prevent countries from slipping back into war.
The main beneficiaries so far have been Burundi and Sierra Leone, which have received grants totaling $43 million. Other money has gone to Ivory Coast, Central African Republic and Liberia