NEPAL: Children and Armed Conflict

Submitted by crinadmin on Thu, 22/03/2012 - 11:18

Summary: The information below is based on the 2011 report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council (A/65/820-S/2011/250) issued on 23 April 2011. More information is available in the report.

Scroll down for UN document on Chidlren and Armed Conflict in Nepal

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) took part, as a political party, in the Constituent Assembly elections in 2008, and conflict-related violations against children have subsequently decreased significantly. However, armed elements operating with political and often criminal motives primarily in the southern Terai districts continue to have a serious impact on the overall security situation and have created new protection risks for children and increased their vulnerability to violations. However, no consistent pattern of violations can be established, and perpetrators are often unidentified, given that the situation in the Terai region is fluid and different armed groups quickly form, split and disappear.

In 2010, the country task forces on monitoring and reportingdocumented that 14 children were abducted and 4 were subsequently killed. Of the 14 cases, 12 abductions involved demands for ransom, while the motives of the other two cases were not known. In addition, 20 children sustained injuries caused by improvised explosive devices in different parts of the country. However, it was difficult to determine if the improvised explosive devices were remains from the former conflict or new contamination by the armed elements.

Mine risk education programmes led by the Department of Education, the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, with support from UNICEF, have trained and equipped teachers, Nepal Police officers and Armed Police Force officers in the 25 most affected districts. Some 500,000 schoolchildren and 25,000 security personnel have been educated in avoiding the risks of mines and, importantly, explosive remnants of the conflict, which have caused more casualties than mines have in Nepal. A mine action section was established within the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction and has commenced its operation as the government focal point for coordinating mine action initiatives.

Information on progress made by parties to conflict on dialogue and action plans to halt the recruitment and use of children, patterns of killing and maiming of children or rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in armed conflict

In line with the action plan signed on 16 December 2009, between the Government of Nepal, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), and the United Nations regarding the discharge of disqualified Maoist army personnel and related tasks, and in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the formal discharge of Maoist army personnel verified as minors was completed in early 2010; 2,973 Maoist army personnel were verified as minors. The discharge process took place in the seven main cantonment sites and included 1,843 persons verified as minors; the remaining 1,130 verified minors who were not present for this process were discharged with the signing of a declaration of discharge on 23 March 2010.

A United Nations monitoring team comprising representatives from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UNICEF, in conjunction with the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), was established to monitor and report on compliance with the provisions specified in the action plan. Information collected and verified to date indicates that there are continuing links between some verified minors and the Maoist army, including monthly payments being made to the verified minors and accommodation, in the form of shared housing, being provided in different regions. A small number of verified minors have returned to the cantonment sites. However, there are also social-economic aspects to these continuing links, including difficulties faced by the verified minors in reintegrating into their communities and finding alternative employment. Despite concerns being raised with UCPN-M at the central level and with Maoist army commanders at the cantonment sites, few measures to redress these trends have been observed.