Kathmandu, April 23: Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa stressed that the establishment of an inclusive, resilient, and prosperous society in a safe and secured environment is a topmost priority of the Government of Nepal.    

Addressing the UN high-level debate on ‘Urban Safety, Security and Good Governance: Making Crime Prevention a Priority for All’ through a pre-recorded video this morning, Minister Thapa highlighted Nepal’s efforts aimed at making the crime-free and safe cities thereby tackling the multifarious risks of violence, crime, insecurity, and social malpractices.    

He further underscored that, in line with the aspiration to graduate from the LDC category, Nepal has focused on crime prevention and sustainable urban development including through better coordination and cooperation among the three tiers of government in the federal structure.

The involvement of women, youth, and local communities in both urban development and crime prevention has been a focus of our policies and programmes, he stated.    

Minister called for strong international cooperation and partnership for the establishment of safe and resilient cities. He said that good governance would only be achieved through reducing inequality and enhancing participation of communities and stakeholders at the grassroots level.    

The one-day high-level debate, organized by the President of the UN General Assembly, featured 16 ministerial and a number of other high-level speakers.