07 March, 2021
CZOP team led by its Chairman Mr. Narendra Dangol interacted with the newly appointed honorable Chairman and honorable members of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on March 7, 2021, here in Kathmandu (Lalitpur), Nepal. CZOP has been lobbying for adequate policy and plan of action with the government of Nepal, its authorities, constitutional bodies, and legislature to promote and protect child rights in Nepal since its inception in 2001, especially for policy change to improve the lives of children.
At the initial of the program CZOP Chair Mr. Dangol welcomed “by honoring with KHADA” to the NHRC Chairperson and Members. CZOP Program Director Mr. Madhu Dawadi presented a retrospective partnership between NHRC and CZOP since 2000. The presentation covered monitoring of child rights during a decade-long insurgency faced by Nepal from 1996 to 2006, promoting safe and peaceful school, and child protection in a civil war and later on, advocacy for child rights protection and promotion from policy to programming in Nepal. In the 2010’ decade, the paradigm shifted focusing on the promotion of child rights as political agenda to assure in the constitution and another legal framework. Similar, awareness and promotion to reduce violence against children, ‘stakeholders’ and ‘supplementary’ reporting of the international forum was common agenda primarily includes Universal Periodic reporting (UPR) on Human Rights and treaty: CRC.
In the presentation, CZOP suggested to NHRC to establish a child rights division with a dedicated commissioner referring Nepal Constitution article 248 (6) Kha, or promote or lobby for ‘Ombudsperson’ with legal amendment. Likewise, the continuation of the previous partnership, promoting data-based information in all levels including National Census and processing of data with policy advocacy for child rights promotion, periodic monitoring of the child rights situation that delivers by executive mechanisms of the state.
Mr. Dangol wished for the successful tenure of all commissioners, thanked for the partnership of previous commissioners and staff of NHRC. He stressed a new level of partnership to changes the lives of Nepali Children.
Joint Secretary Mr. Deepak Jung Karki from NHRC highlighted to ‘assure child rights officers at all local levels and data management of child rights protection and promotion is in still limbo’. Similarly another joint secretary Mr. Murari Kharel recalls ‘the monitoring and recommendation to Government, especially School as Zones of Peace (SZOP) campaign, removal of security camp and armed groups from School and commitment paper by rebellion and state party to accept children as Zones of Peace’ during the ‘war’ and beyond are glorious history and partnership between NHRC and CZOP’.
The newly appointed honorable chairman justice Mr. Top Bahadur Magar, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Nepal, responding to CZOP team, thanked CZOP for the partnership since along. Chairman Mr. Magar committed to exploring the possibility of child rights Division within NHRC and it was well noted. Similarly, ‘provision of ‘Ombudsperson’ needs positive political commitment and NHRC try their best for the policy change, he said.
Prof. Dr. Surya Dhungel, a commissioner of NHRC, pointed out the collective efforts to changes the lives of children and enforcement of supreme decisions along with national and international commitment for child rights protection prioritize during his tenure.
‘Enactment Child rights division within NHRC, yearly monitoring report on child rights and provision of child rights officers and their delivery are very good suggestion by CZOP’ said another Commissioner Mr. Mihir Thakur, who was a former judge at the apex court of Nepal.
NHRC undersecretary Ms. Maya Poudel hosted the program where NHRC secretary Bed Prasad Bhattarai led the officers of NHRC. CZOP vice-chair Ms. Meena Sharma, General Secretary Mr. Rajesh Sharma, and Treasure Mr. Ratna Uprety attended the program. Other senior and officers also took part in the program.