Jimmy Carter enthusiastically supported the child survival campaign led by UNICEF. He had nominated Jim Grant to be the Executive Director of UNICEF and said that it was one of the most important decisions of his presidency.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
KATHMANDU, Nepal (IPS)\u00a0<\/strong>– Former American President Jimmy Carter was a man of peace and principles. He presided over a tumultuous period in American history from 1977 to 1981, working hard to restore trust in government after the Watergate scandal and the divisive era of the Vietnam War. He brokered a landmark peace deal between Israel and Egypt and negotiated a historic treaty to hand over the Panama Canal to Panama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carter, a champion of human rights both in the US and around the world, passed away at 100 on December 29, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than any recent American president, Carter pressed gently but firmly on autocratic regimes worldwide to respect human rights and the rule of law. When he led the country with immense moral authority, it encouraged many human rights advocates, while dictators worried about the US sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At home, Carter got many progressive legislations passed in areas of consumer protection, welfare reforms and the appointment of women and minorities in America\u2019s judiciary. However, he had difficulties managing the US economy, the Iran hostage crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. And in the 1980 Presidential election, when he lost his bid to Ronald Reagan, his active political career came to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n Kul Chandra GautamBut he didn\u2019t retire to a comfortable life, rather, he embarked on a noble mission as one of the world\u2019s highly respected elder statesmen, deeply committed to promoting democracy and human rights. He founded the Carter Center with a motto of \u201cWaging Peace, Fighting Disease and Building Hope\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With his team, he worked tirelessly to help resolve conflicts, monitor elections and improve human health through campaigns to eliminate several neglected diseases afflicting the poorest people worldwide, particularly in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights and to promote economic and social development,\u201d Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Links with UNICEF and Nepal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carter greatly admired UNICEF Executive Director James Grant and strongly supported the UNICEF-led global child survival and development campaign. Further, the organisation was a key partner in the Carter-led global campaign to eradicate a debilitating disease called dracunculiasis<\/em> or Guinea-worm disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My first substantive meeting with Carter took place on August 3, 1995, at an event in Washington, DC, organised jointly by the Carter Center, USAID, WHO and UNICEF to mark the 95 percent reduction in Guinea worm cases worldwide and to recommit to its total eradication. I had a long and fruitful discussion with Carter on strengthening our collaboration in the global campaign to eradicate Guinea-worm disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In February 2004, I joined President Carter and WHO Director-General JW Lee on a 3-day field visit to observe and advocate for Guinea-worm eradication in Ghana. I learned about Carter\u2019s humble personality, deep commitment to many worthy causes and impressive advocacy skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our informal interactions, we often talked about Nepal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carter\u2019s involvement in Nepal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carter visited Nepal twice to observe Nepal\u2019s Constituent Assembly Elections. He advised Nepali leaders, including the Election Commission, based on his worldwide experience and credibility in observing elections and conflict resolution. Over the years, the Carter Center produced several reports on Nepal dealing with issues related to the peace process, challenges in drafting Nepal\u2019s Constitution and other important issues of social justice and equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I instinctively supported Carter\u2019s noble efforts to promote peace, democracy and development. However, like everybody else, Carter was human and fallible, and some aspects of the Carter Center\u2019s reports on Nepal were flawed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In particular, Carter\u2019s hasty verdict that Nepal\u2019s first Constituent Assembly election was free, fair and peaceful ignored the fact that there was an unusually high degree of intimidation in many rural constituencies. The non-Maoist parties\u2019 candidates were prevented from campaigning, and voters were threatened with physical violence for weeks preceding the actual voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were well-intentioned but inaccurate analyses of Nepal\u2019s socio-political dynamics by the Carter Center, the International Crisis Group, and even the United Nations. In their effort to appear \u201cbalanced and even-handed\u201d, they gave the undue benefit of the doubt to the progressive-sounding rhetoric of the Maoists, ignoring their violent and corrupt practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carter witnessed the insincerity and duplicity of the Maoists when they initially welcomed the 2013 election for the second Constituent Assembly but then denounced it as rigged and unfair when the results showed that they had suffered a humiliating loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike during the first CA election, Carter took the necessary time to analyse the second CA election better. He left somewhat sobered by a deeper understanding of the Maoists\u2019 opportunistic and undemocratic nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A man of faith and integrity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jimmy Carter was a deeply religious and spiritual man who often turned to his faith during his political career. But as a progressive man and defender of human rights and gender equality, he found himself at odds with his Southern Baptist Church when it opposed gender equality, citing a few selected verses from the Bible that women must be \u201csubservient\u201d to their husbands and must not be allowed to serve as priests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carter protested and took a painful decision to sever ties with his Baptist Church, saying that parts of its rigid doctrine violated the basic premises of his Christian faith. He wrote to his fellow Baptists and published an op-ed article \u201cLosing my religion for equality\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carter had a philosophical and spiritual perspective on death. As he suffered from multiple bouts of cancer treatment, he remarked, \u201cI didn\u2019t ask God to let me live, but I just asked God to give me a proper attitude toward death. I found that I was absolutely and completely at ease with death\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n May Carter\u2019s noble soul rest in eternal peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source<\/strong>: Kathmandu Post, Nepal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Kul](\"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Kul-Chandra-Gautam.jpg\")
Kul Chandra Gautam<\/strong> is a distinguished diplomat, development professional, and a former senior official of the United Nations. Currently, he serves on the Boards of several international and national organizations, charitable foundations and public-private partnerships. Previously, he served in senior managerial and leadership positions with the UN in several countries and continents in a career spanning over three decades. As a former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, he has extensive experience in international diplomacy, development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n