Rehabilitation of children used in war is no minor issue
While signing the peace agreement, the government and the Maoist had expressed commitment to rehabilitate the conflict-affected children back into their families and the society.
However, months have passed but no practical efforts have been made to identify, rescue and integrate the children who were used by the Maoists and the state’s armed forces in armed activities as well as the children displaced due to the conflict. As political issues dominate the peace process, such humanitarian efforts seem to have been put on the backburner.
There are no exact figures, for it is hard to find out, how many children worked for, or used by, the Maoists and the then Nepal Army during the insurgency. “It is very difficult to say how many children have actually been used by the armed forces. None of the sides are ready to admit that they used children during the war,” says chairman of Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) Gauri Pradhan.
In its preliminary estimate, the Stop Child Labour International Campaign has stated that over children (below 18 years) make of 10 percent of the Maoist militias and armies. Some reports even put the ratio as high as 30 percent. However, the Maoists deny these allegations. CWIN estimates the number of children used as militias, members of cultural troupes and armed groups is around 5,000.
Sometime back, Maoist chairman Prachanda said, “Our party does not have a policy of recruiting children. We do not even train children below 16 years old as militias. Accidentally, children have been killed, and we are saddened by that.” He, however, did not rule out the fact that children were involved in the war in one way or the other.
Human rights activists stress that the definition of child soldiers is wider than is being perceived in Nepal now. “Children used as informers, cooks, labourers or helpers in any of the activities carried by the armed groups fall under the definition of child soldiers according to international conventions,” general secretary of the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) Kundan Aryal says. In Nepalese context, child soldiers have been defined only those who were involved in carrying the guns, he adds.
During the insurgency, there were frequent reports of use of children by the Nepal Army as informers but the army never conceded doing so.
In the case of the rebels, they initially involved children mostly in cultural groups many of whom gradually got associated with other activities of the party. According to Working Group on Children Associated with the Armed Forces or Armed Groups (CAAFAG), most of the children used in such activities are between 14-18 years of age. In its preliminary assessment, the CAAFAG found that 72 percent of such children entered the armed forces as members of cultural groups. The Maoist claim is different. They say that most of the children have come under the protection of the party as their parents, who were associated with the party, were killed in encounters or in government custody.
According to CWIN, over 460 children were killed during the insurgency out of which the organisation recorded 31 children killed in the crossfire between the security forces and the Maoists.
The process of integration is a difficult task. “Children were used in violence or they became victims of violence. They have been traumatised. Their socialisation is much more difficult than is usually considered,” CWIN’s Pradhan says.
Reports, meanwhile, say the Maoist have started sending the children involved in the party activities to schools in Jumla district covering all expenses for their education.
Aryal says reintegration of girl children used by armed forces is even more difficult. The way the society looks at them, who may be sexually abused, is should change so that they could have it easy to join their families and society.
One of the major concerns would be the future of these minors. Many of them left the schools at the early age to join the armed groups or the armed forces. “They are now grownups and it is difficult for them to adjust in lower grades,” Aryal says.
The government and the Maoists have agreed to send such children back to schools and provide technical and vocational education to those who are not able to continue formal education. Additionally, child rights groups stress the need for psychosocial, medical, and other kinds of counselling as part of rehabilitating them.
Amidst mounting pressure from national and international humanitarian groups, now it’s time for government and the Maoists to show strong willpower to address this humanitarian problem. Political adjustments alone cannot bring about changes long-desired by the country unless these issues are adequately addressed.
Published in Nepalnews.com