Supreme court directed government in child rights

In an order to protect the rights of children, the Supreme Court (SC) has directed the government authorities the Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet and the Ministry of Education and Sports to incorporate child rights laws in school curriculum.

Acting upon a writ petition jointly filed by Friends of Needy Children, an NGO and a group of lawyers, a division bench of Justices Sharada Prasad Pundit and Bal Ram KC said, “Include child rights laws and international conventions along with the Child Rights Act, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) and other child rights conventions in school curriculum.”

The bench also drew the attention of the government authorities to effectively implement laws related to rights of the child, according to media reports.

The bench also observed that it is the responsibility of the government to protect the rights of the child as per the national and international child rights documents.

The SC also ordered the government to strictly implement the Articles 9, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 28, 29, 31 and 32 of the CRC which have provisions to secure the rights of the child.

Citing the custom of Kamalary in the western districts of Banke, Bardiya, Dang, Kailali and Kanchanpur as serious violation of child rights, the bench issued an order to stop the system.
The writ petitioners almost two years ago had moved the Supreme Court seeking its order to the government against the system.