Nepal’s Supreme Court has directed the government to amend existing laws and classify the recruitment and use of child soldiers as a serious human rights violation, paving the way for legal accountability in conflict-era cases.
The directive was issued in response to a writ petition filed by Lenin Bista, a former child soldier recruited during the Maoist insurgency. Bista had sought social rehabilitation for former child soldiers and legal action against those responsible for recruiting minors during the decade-long armed conflict.
During the insurgency, senior Maoist leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattaraiwere among those leading the movement that recruited children into its armed ranks. Hundreds of minors associated with the Maoist army were formally discharged in 2010 after being identified as underage combatants.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court found that the recently amended transitional justice legislation governing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) had failed to recognize the use of child soldiers as a “serious violation of human rights.”
A full bench of the court stated that the government must take immediate steps to draft legislation that fully prohibits the recruitment or use of children aged 18 or below in any military force or armed group and criminalizes such acts.“A directive order has been issued to the opponent government bodies to take immediate initiatives for drafting a law that completely prohibits the inclusion or utilization of children aged 18 or under in any military force, and renders such acts a punishable offense,” the court said.
Following the ruling, the government will be required to introduce an amendment bill in the Federal Parliament to incorporate the recruitment and use of child soldiers into the definition of serious human rights violations under the Enforced Disappeared Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014 (2071 BS), which governs Nepal’s two transitional justice commissions.
The Supreme Court based its decision on Nepal’s obligations under various international treaties and conventions, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the involvement of children in armed conflict and requires states to ensure their rehabilitation and social reintegration.
The court also cited commitments made in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Government of Nepal and the Maoists in 2006. Under the agreement, both parties pledged not to recruit or use children under the age of 18 in military forces and committed to their immediate rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society.
The ruling is expected to strengthen Nepal’s transitional justice process by addressing a long-standing gap in accountability for the recruitment and use of child soldiers during the armed conflict.
