Tasks Ahead
AFTER forming a 13-member Council of
Ministers and the swearing-in ceremony Thursday, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba made an
impassioned appeal to all political parties to have a common approach to solving the
myriad problems facing the nation, the most important among them being the Maoist problem.
In his address to both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly, he
emphasised consensus among all political parties, both inside and outside, in order to
resolve the Maoist problem, saying that the prime responsibility of all the people’s
representatives was to create a society free from murder, violence and disturbances. Mr.
Deuba’s long-standing stance towards the Maoist problem came to the fore soon after
he took over the premiership when he urged the Maoists to cease their violent activities.
That the Maoists positively responded to that immediately also indicated the possibility
of building up an atmosphere of trust. There has been an all-round praise for his swift
action on this front. Leader of the main opposition party Madhav Kumar Nepal, speaking at
the House, lauded the positive development on the Maoist problem after the change of
guards in the government. That Mr. Deuba doesn’t look at the Maoist problem in
isolation also came forth when he told the House that the Maoist problem was a by-product
of poverty, unemployment, oppressed ethnic communities and pitiable conditions of women
and children in the country. This should also serve to add to the tone for the talks which
everybody wants to see happen as soon as possible. With Mr. Deuba making the new
government’s stand on the Maoist problem clear, nothing should prevent the Maoist
leaders from taking the present truce further towards meaningful talks.
Though the Maoist problem is the most conspicuous challenge
facing this country, it is by no means the only one. The tasks ahead for Mr. Deuba and his
cabinet are numerous. Mr. Deuba’s address to the legislators also contained mention
of the other challenges when he asked for cooperation from all to come up with concrete
programmes for fulfilment of the basic needs of the people including land reforms, issues
concerning people’s livelihood, women’s upliftment, child rights and the like.
The cabinet announced by the new prime minister has to get to grips with all these tasks
without delay. Even with only 13 members in the cabinet now, the urgent tasks could begin
to be tackled. When the council of ministers takes the form of a full-fledged cabinet with
enough hands to handle the various portfolios, government work could pick up further
speed. For now, all eyes are on how soon the talks with the Maoists begin.
Yes For Child Rights
AS a part of global movement for the rights
and welfare of children, a new campaign called "Say Yes for Children" was
launched in Nepal the other day in order to raise public awareness and create public
opinion for the rights of the child. The campaign jointly organized by Ministry of Women,
Children and Social Welfare, Unicef/Nepal, Save the Children Alliance and Plan
International conducted public hearings on Nepal’s Second United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child Report. The public hearings was conducted to solicit
suggestions in connection with the preparation of the national report to be presented to
the UN General Assembly regarding the progress made in the field of rights of the child in
Nepal. Since Nepal has already ratified UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is
mandatory to submit report to the UN regarding the situation of children and their rights.
The public hearings being conducted in different parts of the country for soliciting
suggestions from cross section of the society aims at encouraging and involving public
participation in the preparation of the report. After the restoration of democracy in
1990, all successive governments have been committed to protection and promotion of
fundamental human rights of the people. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal has fully
guaranteed fundamental rights of the people. It is only after the restoration of
democracy, Nepal ratified several international instruments concerning human rights
including Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC). After the ratification of CRC, Nepal has taken a number of policy as well as legal
measures for the protection and promotion of the rights of Nepalese children. The
Children’s Act has strictly prohibited employment of children under 14 years of age
in any sector. Similarly the government has brought about programmes for the welfare of
disadvantaged children. As education is key to eradication of child labour and protection
of child rights, the government has made education upto secondary level free under its
programme of " Education For All". In this campaign for the protection of rights
of the child and welfare of children, several national as well as international agencies
have been providing active support. As a result, the status of Nepalese children has
improved compared to a decade ago. However, there is still no room for complacency. Much
also needs to be done for the complete protection and promotion of rights of the child,
for which active participation and support from all is highly needed. |
