– GAURI PRADHAN

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GAURI PRADHAN, president of the non-government Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), has been working for long time to promote the rights and welfare of children. Pradhan, who is also the president of the NGO Federation of Nepal, spoke to SPOTLIGHT on various issues relating to the rights of children. Excerpts:

The country recently celebrated Children’s Rights Day. How do you see the state of child rights in Nepal?

Children are very weak members of society. Even a small event affects their behavior. At a time when the country has been passing through a bloody conflict, it is disturbing the psychology of the common people. It is disturbing the psychology of the children and making them deviant. From morning to evening, the children in Nepal have to encounter incidents related to murder and violence. Every child is watching and listening to acts of destruction. It is unfortunate that the ongoing conflict has paved the way for a violent culture in the psyche of the children. I am worried that this may change into an entrenched culture.

What changes do you see in children?

In the initial phase, children were scared to see dead bodies and wounded people. After passing through a long course of violence, they have developed resistance and even do not seem to notice them. This tendency has destroyed the creativeness of children and made them violent. The emerging behavior will bring a new culture in society, family and schools. The violent activities are transforming the behavior of the children all over the country. According to some psychologists, most of the children are willing to do anything to take revenge. Many children have problems of depression and suppression. If we are unable to rescue the children from violence, the new generation will be more violent.

Is it possible to bring normalcy?

Even after the restoration of peace, it will take a long time to normalize children caught in conflict. If we see the experiences of other countries with similar situation, they are spending millions of dollars to rehabilitate them. After the conflict, the country has to bear huge socio-economic costs on rehabilitation, relief and counseling.

You have been meeting children from different parts of the country. What are their challenges?

Because of poverty, a large number of children are living in difficult conditions. They have to do household chores and other menial work. With the upsurge in violence, the situation has worsened. If you analyze the data of victims of the violence, you can see that more than 100 children have been killed. This figure will go up. More than 1,500 children have lost their parents and 3,000 children are displaced along with their parents. This is the direct effect of the conflict. The indirect effect is much larger, as hundreds of schools have been closed down.

What is the overall situation of schools?

The schools have been converted into battle zones for Maoists and security forces. As the schools have closed down, many children are coming to the city. Many parents who have relatives in the city continue to send their children to protect them from the insurgency. Many people have left their homes and are living in the district capital. There is a pathetic situation. The children who were sent for protection are exploited by different people. They are forced to live as street children, child workers or are sexually exploited. We have not done any study about this, but the experience of other countries has shown that the lives of children are badly affected in internal war. The overall psychology of children is very depressing. The present challenge is pull children away from conflict.

As you say, violence has been targeted against schools. Why haven’t organizations like yours taken initiatives to avert it?

We have been making efforts to convince the warring factions that the schools should not be used as a center of violence. They must respect some kinds of restraints and declare such areas as a peace zone. With the pressure from human rights organizations and civic society, we compelled the Maoists to withdraw the five-day Nepal Bandh called on the eve of School Leaving Certificate Examination a year ago. Schools are regarded as a peaceful zone internationally. Schools should not be used as a center of politics and violence. Human rights workers, civic society and other such organizations are now making efforts to convey the message to the Maoist leaders not to take any actions that would undermine the future of tens of thousands of students at different levels.

What type of children do you have in your center?

We are working with children involved in hazardous situations, including trafficking, sexual exploitation and child labor. We also have some children who are affected by the conflict. We are launching various programs to improve the conditions of children. We have been treating children through play therapy. We are unable to reach all the children, but we are supporting some of them.

‘Human Rights Begin From Children’s Rights’

– SUBODH RAJ PYAKUREL

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SUBODH RAJ PYAKUREL, general secretary of the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), is among Nepal’s well-known human rights activists. He spoke to SPOTLIGHT on the issue of child rights. Excerpts:

How do you define child rights in the present context?

Child rights are included in human rights. Human rights begin from child rights. Under child rights, a child is given a right to safe birth and to grow up with affection, right to education and protection from any kind of sexual or mental exploitation. Children also have the right to become involved in development. After the concept of human rights, child rights appeared. In the last few decades, many new international conventions have been passed to protect children from exploitation.

What are the major international and national conventions protecting the rights of children?

The government has already endorsed the International Child Rights Convention 1989 and many other UN conventions. The government has declared that it will establish juvenile court to enforce the Children Act 1993 and regulations. The government also constituted the Central Children Welfare Committee and district Children Welfare committee. In the education sector, the government has agreed to implement the Dakar Convention. There are international conventions on labor. The Geneva Convention forbids the use of child soldiers. We have already urged the Maoists not to use children as soldiers.

In every conflict, children are the primary targets. Are there any policies and strategies in the country to defend children?

It is very unfortunate that even in general circumstances, the government has not fulfilled its international commitments. We don’t have any mechanism for follow up. The Maoists, too, are violating certain conventions. As human rights activists, we are neutral and independent. This may be the reason we can press warring factions to respect international conventions on children. We are still in a position to influence the Maoists and government on their policies. If human rights activists work together, the rights of the
children can be defended.

You recently published a report on the displacement of the children from the conflict areas. How bad is the situation?

We can protect the rights of the children within human rights, but we must be committed to the cause. We must think about the kind of future we are going to make. Till a couple of years ago, there were 50,000 children living in vulnerable conditions. Following the release of Kamaiyas, another 10,000 children were sent to work in city households. More than 100,000 children have been affected by the insurgency. Among Nepal’s 22.3 million people, more than 60 percent live below the poverty line. If we analyze the situation of the children, 500,000-600,000 children are living in inhuman conditions. Other problems are added when school buildings, health posts, drinking water taps continue to be destroyed.

How do you see the educational status?

Unfortunately, this sector has been badly hurt in the seven-year-long insurgency. Since a large number of teachers have left the villages because of insecurity, schools remain closed. The children do not have any other option but to learn destructive behavior. Because of destruction of health posts, sick children do not have a place to get treatment.

How are children being used in the insurgency?

The Maoists use children as informers, porters, soldiers and assistants in the battle zone. We have photographs to prove this.

How are children in the rural areas faring today?

Children are living in a very fearful condition as they have seen their parents killed by Maoists and security forces. The children have a psychology of revenge. Whenever children meet strangers, they ask for guns. The children are caught between the security forces and the Maoists. The children are in a confusing state and are living in terror. Some children want to kill police and other want to kill the Maoists. There is a growing sense of revenge. In the absence of schools, the children are forced into the conflict. The children have seen various atrocities committed. Their psychology is badly hurt. The warring factions must declare some areas as peace zones.

Do you see any possibility of an improvement in the situation?

I am very much optimistic, since we can request warring factions to declare schools and health posts as peace zones. We can request the Maoists not to attack on school buildings, drinking water projects and health posts. We can put their hoarding declaring the place as a peaceful zone. Human rights sector is still one of the safest areas as security forces and Maoists still respect us. At a time when the human rights activists do not have to worry about the threat of their life, they can change the situation visiting the areas urging the warring factions to protect the rights of the children. We must take responsibility to protect the rights of the children who are in vulnerable situation.