 |
|
| Kathmandu, Friday January 17, 2003 Magh 03, 2059. |
|
Red Cross to initiate talks
with Govt, Maoists
‘Respect child rights or face
sanctions’
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 16 :The International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in New Delhi Wednesday that it plans to hold talks with the
Nepal government and the Maoists to improve living conditions, in conflict areas of the
country, according to the BBC website.
In a statement issued in the Indian capital,
ICRC said it hoped the talks would ensure freedom of movement of people and goods. The
initiative comes in the wake of a Red Cross survey, which pointed out that there was no
current food crisis in remote western areas of the country, despite escalation of
violence.
The ICRC survey team found the local people
involved in farming activities, the way they used to in normal times. The report has,
however, drawn attention at the need to ease unannounced embargo on movement of goods and
people from certain districts, in the interest of food security in the future.
Meanwhile, in yet another international focus on
Nepal, the UN Secretary General, in his third report on children and armed conflict,
submitted to the Security Council last month, noted that children have been recruited for
combat in Nepal, besides other Asian, South American and African nations, according to
agency reports. Those under spanner in this category are Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Philippines,
Columbia, Sudan and Uganda.
The Security Council is expected to act on the
report by adopting a resolution later this week, calling on member states to impose
sanctions against governments and insurgents, that use child soldiers, said the Associated
Press from New York yesterday.
The Secretary General’s list of offenders
was welcomed by members during a day-long debate, in which 50 countries spoke out against
the exploitation of children in armed conflicts.
Olara Otunnu, the UN special representative for
children and armed conflict, said he expected the Security Council to adopt a resolution,
that would impose sanctions against those on the list, which fail to stop recruiting and
using child soldiers.
A draft of the resolution states that the
council would impose travel, financial, and arms restrictions if those on the list did not
make "substantial progress in ending the recruitment and use of child combatants
...within eight months".
There have been reports that the Maoists are
using child soldiers in their fight against government forces, although the rebel
leadership had denied the allegation.
Other Stories
|
