Kathmandu: Former child soldiers of Nepal have urged the government to take measures to ensure justice, compensation, rehabilitation and support to them.
Issuing an appeal for justice, Discharged People’s Liberation Army Nepal (DPLAN) has called upon the Government of Nepal to rectify its position that denies the existence of child soldiers during the 1996-2006 conflict, and to provide appropriate support and resources for their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
Thousands of citizens who were robbed of their childhood upon being pushed into the battlefield during the ten-year conflict, reads the statement by Lenin Bista, chairperson at DPLAN. “Our present adulthood is being destroyed by the deliberate neglect of successive governments, who have not acted on our demand for reparation, compensation, truth and accountability. The use of minors in combat is a crime against international humanitarian law.”
The organization has also demanded to encourage the establishment of comprehensive programmes for former child soldiers that prioritize education, healthcare, psycho-social support, skills training, and livelihood opportunities.
We urge the Government and political parties to ensure that the issue of child soldiers and matters related to reparation, compensation, truth and justice be included without fail in the text of the Transitional Justice Bill currently in Parliament, the statement further states.
Further, the organization has appealed to form an independent commission to work on the issues, justice, compensation, rehabilitation and support the former child soldiers and their families.
Over a decade and half has passed since the Government of Nepal, in conjunction with the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), verified the existence of thousands of child soldiers in the Maoist ranks, reads the statement. “However, while the adult soldiers have been well cared for, we minors were left to fend for ourselves, and till today as young adults we confront ostracism, discrimination and difficulty maintaining livelihoods.”
We have experienced violence firsthand, suffered physical and psychological trauma, endured unimaginable hardship during the conflict, and are experiencing social marginalization thereafter. The mother party, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and now Maoist Centre, despite being in the government several times, has promised but failed to provide us with care and support, claims the statement.
The organization has filed a court case on the use and exploitation of child soldiers against Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepal’s former Prime Minister and chairperson of CPN (Maoist-Center). The hearings on the case are presently ongoing at the Supreme Court of Nepal while the follow-up hearing for the case is on September 08, 2024.
We former child soldiers are being kept completely out of the peace process of Nepal since the beginning in 2006 till today. In line with this cruel neglect, our living reality finds no mention in the Transitional Justice Bill presently before Parliament, adds the statement.
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