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Children Face 'Serious Trauma' in Conflict

More than 14,000 children were abducted during last 10 months in Nepal

OhmyNews
By Maina Dhital

December 31, 2005

While numerous efforts to protect children from ongoing armed conflicts in Nepal have been in place, the abduction of thousands of Nepalese children persists.

According to Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Center (CWIN), from January to November, more than 14,000 children were abducted by Maoist rebels. Likewise, 22 children were arrested by security forces during the same period. Some 60 children were killed, among them were 16 girls.

Many of them are released after receiving training or instruction, according to Tarak Dhital, spokesperson of CWIN. About 224 children face serious health problems and 144 were injured because of the ongoing armed conflict. Approximately 150 children are forced into harsh forms of child labor.

Facts

During 10 years of armed conflict, it was reported that:

  • 421 (297 boys and 124 girls) died.

  • 458 (275 boys and 129 girls and 54 are unknown) were injured.

  • 29,325 children were abducted (captured and released in many cases).

  • 234 children were arrested by state security forces.


From January to October, it was recorded that:

  • 60 children (44 boys and 16 girls) were killed.

  • 144 children (62 boys and 36 girls and 46 unknown) were injured.

  • 14,001 children were abducted (captured and released in many cases).

  • And state security forces arrested 22 children (11 boys, five girls and six unidentified).

  • 150 children are forced into labor work and 224 children are suffering from various health problems.

  • Around 3,647 schools were affected by the armed conflict. Over 3,000 schools occasionally close due to strikes called by rebel groups. (Source: CWIN)


The National Human Right Commission (NHRC) monitored human rights violations in 11 districts a few months ago. The NHRC report revealed that children were killed illegally both by state security forces and rebel groups. They also used children as messengers and porters as well as soldiers.

According to the CWIN, 421 children were killed during the 10 years of the conflict.

To protect the children, various organizations including CWIN and Save the Children Norway (SCW) have been working together. The alliance of 37 organizations launched "Children as a Peace Zone Movement" in 2001.

The movement has a policy to announce each school as a peace zone. The coalition advocates to the all parties involved in the conflict not to snatch children's right to have a childhood, to leave the children out of the conflict and not to recruit them as combatants or for combat related activities.

It also advocates for children to have uninterrupted access to education and basic health care services, water supply and sanitation, to let them grow up as happy, tolerant, peace-loving, non-violent children.

"Though this movement reduced the number of cases, yet they are still being used strategically," said Bhola Dahal, an SCW representative. "They are still being used as porters, messengers and so on."

During the 10-month period, 3,647 schools are affected by armed conflict where more than 3,000 schools close their doors occasionally because of strikes called by the rebels. Nepal is a state party to the Human Rights Declaration of 1948, the Geneva Convention of 1949, Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and Optional Protocols on the Use of Children in Armed Conflicts, as well as the 1982 ILO Convention. As a state member to these international instruments, Nepal has an obligation to protect all children affected by war.

The non-state party is also obligated, as per the Geneva Convention as well as the optional protocols of CRC, not to involve children in armed conflicts and to protect their fundamental rights.

Maoists have repeatedly said that they have been following the tenets of the Geneva Convention and have denied using children as combatants. However, human rights watchdogs claim that both the state and non-state parties violated those laws and obligations.

"Two years ago, security forces established its barracks in 20 schools, where eight are still running," Dhital said, adding that the coalition has been discussing with security forces and the Ministry of Education to remove those barracks from schools.

"If those barracks couldn't be removed due to security reasons, all affected schools should provide compensation so that they could be relocated to another place," he said.

The children involved in Maoist activities due to various reasons who surrendered to state security forces facing various problems.

"The security forces reveal their identification including name and permanent address", said Dhital, adding that they are also used to identify rebel groups; sometimes they are also taken by security forces in the battlefield with combat dress. After using them for information and other resources, these poor children are finally shacked by security forces, thereafter arrive in street.

"It's a big challenge to rehabilitate them," he said. "Such children face serious trauma."

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