Violations of Child rights continued even after CPA: PPCC

Partnerships for Protecting Children in Armed Conflict (PPCC), a network of national and international organizations has said that violations against children continue to be committed despite the November Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the government and the Maoists.

As per the information given during the release of training manual designed to guide Nepali organisations in their work to systematically monitor and report on violations of children’s rights in Nepal, the PPCC documented 238 cases of recruitment of children in Banke, Bardia and Kailali districts by the Maoists in November and December alone.

The Maoist leadership however, refutes such claims saying that they do not have the policy of recruiting children.

The manual entitled ‘Children in Conflict: Monitoring Manual’ is the first of this kind in Nepal designed to guide rights defenders in monitoring and documenting children’s rights violations.

Stating that mass recruitment drive of children has been observed throughout Nepal in recent months, the PPCC said the manual provides guidelines for the collection of information about the recruitment of children and other violations of children’s rights.

“I feel this manual will bridge a serious gap in this field” the statement quoted Mandira Sharma, Executive Director of Advocacy Forum and a member of PPCC as saying.

“By documenting the cases systematically and using the information strategically we can fight the cycle of impunity,” she added. nepalnews.com pb Feb 15 07