WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2003
UNICEF asks Maoists not to recruit children
AP
KATHMANDU: Maoist rebels should stop recruiting children to fight in their seven-year guerrilla war against Nepal's government, and both sides should address the issue of childrens' rights at upcoming peace talks, a top UNICEF official said on Tuesday.
Rights groups have accused the rebels of kidnapping and recruiting children from schools in the remote mountainous villages of this Himalayan kingdom to serve in a conflict that has killed more than 7,000 people since 1996.
"We deplore the use of children in conflict, and Nepal is signatory to the convention on right of the child," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy told reporters in Kathmandu. "Both the government and the rebels should respect this agreement."
Bellamy said a cease-fire agreed last week has "provided a ray of hope for Nepal's 11 million children, who have been increasing affected by violence and fear." She urged the government and the rebels to "keep children at the forefront of their considerations" when they sit down to talk peace. It remains unclear when and where the talks will take place.
The rebels agreed to negotiate after the government promised to stop calling them terrorists, rescind a bounty on rebel leaders and cancel Interpol warrants for their arrest. Many schools in conflict zones have been forced to shut down, fearing attacks by the rebels and abduction of children.
Bellamy said UNICEF was prepared to "assist in demobilisation and reintegration of these children back into the society."
The rebels, who claim to be inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting to abolish the constitutional monarchy and establish a socialist state in Nepal.
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