Kathmandu – Stakeholders have stressed that policy frameworks alone are insufficient to guarantee child rights, highlighting the urgent need for effective implementation and adequate budget allocation.
Speaking at the “Ensuring Children’s Civic Space” inter-ministerial dialogue held in the capital on Sunday, Chakra Bahadur Budha, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, emphasized that children account for 33.8 percent of the country’s total population, requiring focused investment in this demographic. “Formulating policies is not enough. To make them meaningful, there must be proper budget, programs, and effective implementation,” he remarked.
Budha underlined the need to translate initiatives such as the protection of girls, prevention of abortions, rescue of street children, and broader education and protection programs into practice. He further stated that ending child marriage by 2030 remains a national priority, with ongoing collaboration with UNICEF for further research. According to him, child protection systems are already operational across 753 local governments, and preparations are underway for a National Child Assembly.
Arjun Bhattarai, General Secretary of NGO Federation Nepal and keynote speaker at the program, stressed the indispensability of cross-sectoral cooperation. He called for institutionalizing civic space, promoting positive social perspectives, and ensuring meaningful child participation at all levels.
Janak Raj Sharma, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, noted that local governments play a decisive role in fostering child-friendly governance. He admitted, however, that despite the creation of child clubs, child networks, and guidelines, most structures remain confined to formality.
Similarly, Krishna Chandra Pokharel, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, stated that continuous efforts are underway to make educational policies child-friendly. He highlighted initiatives such as child-friendly textbooks, the formation of school-based child clubs, and child-focused amendments to the Education Act. Nonetheless, he acknowledged weak implementation, stressing that commitments such as declaring schools as peace zones, promoting inclusive education for differently-abled students, and improving family-level behavior demand collective responsibility.
From the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security, Undersecretary Jitendra Prasad Sharma underscored that eliminating child labor is a prerequisite for ensuring child rights. He shared that the ministry is implementing a “Master Plan for Child Labor Control” down to the ward level. “The nation will be free of child labor only when every municipality is child labor-free,” he said, pointing out that poverty continues to push vulnerable children into labor.
The event, chaired by Santosh Maharjan, President of Consortium Nepal, concluded that ensuring children’s civic space, rights, and participation requires collective efforts across legal, policy, and practical dimensions. Other speakers, including NGO Federation’s Deputy General Secretary Kiran Thapa, emphasized that only by advancing education, protection, labor reforms, and governance simultaneously can the true welfare of children be achieved.
