In a move to improve its human rights record, Nepal's army has agreed to hand over prisoners held in army barracks to civil authorities.

The Royal Nepalese Army made the commitment to the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that began an inspection of army barracks from Monday.

The commitment came after Ian Martin, chief of the OHCHR office in Nepal, told the army authorities that barracks were not "designated places of detention" and that priority should be given to those being held since a long time. Some of the barracks detainees have been there since 2003.

The army has been keeping several detainees inside barracks though according to Nepal's laws, after arrest, the prisoners have to be handed over to government authorities.

The army says it is holding them to ensure their security. Martin said the army has agreed to transfer the barracks detainees as soon as appropriate arrangements are met. And was in consultation with the home ministry over the transfers.

The army's concession comes ahead of the UN General Assembly meet in New York in September, where King Gyanendra will lead the Nepali delegation.

Two OHCHR teams paid surprise visits to two barracks in the valley Monday and Tuesday to meet people being detained there. Martin told the media Friday the teams had met 18 detainees, including senior Maoist leaders.

It is speculated that the team met Matrika Prasad Yadav, one of the top 10 guerrilla leaders who was part of the rebel team that held talks with the government during a truce in 2003.

Yadav was arrested by Indian police and handed over to the Nepalese authorities in February 2004.

In the past, the army did not allow members of the National Human Rights Commission and International Committee of the Red Cross to visit barracks detainees.

In August 2003, after peace talks broke down between the government and the guerrillas, there was en escalation of violence. Both sides have been accused of extra-judicial killings, illegal detentions and torture of prisoners.

The Royal Nepalese Army's rights record came under fresh criticism in February 2005 when Gyanendra seized absolute power with the help of the army. Three major donors to Nepal - India, the US and Britain, have suspended supplying the army with lethal military supplies.

All three say the resumption will depend on the improvement of the army's record, release of detainees and action against soldiers guilty of excesses.

Security forces also remain evasive about the exact number of prisoners. Martin said the army has provided a first list containing 30 names and agreed to create a "central register" containing information about of all prisoners.

Martin's office has received over 270 individual complaints, with the largest number being about the enforced disappearance of those reportedly detained by the army and those abducted by the Maoists. The rebels have publicly stated the UN team would be allowed access to all areas under their control.

The OHCHR established a unit in Kathmandu in May after Nepal and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, signed an agreement in April to allow UN monitoring of human rights violations in the kingdom by both state agencies and Maoist insurgents.