South Asian meet on child rights in Kathmandu
The South Asian Regional Consultation meeting on Child Rights kicked
off in Kathmandu yesterday with the objectives of promoting child
welfare and controlling trafficking of women and children.
Government officials and child right activists from India, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are taking part in the
two day meeting being organised at the joint initiatives of Save the
Children, Sweden and National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC).
Two little children from Nepal, a boy named Karan Thapa and a girl
named Kalpana Lama, jointly inaugurated the opening ceremony of the meet
as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" who was scheduled to
open the conference could not make it due to his busy schedule.
Regional cooperation and collaboration is needed to end child
exploitation and trafficking and to promote child rights, said NHRC
President Kedarnath Upadhyaya.
He said, "of the 37 million children born every year in South Asia 10
per cent die before they reach the age of 5 due to malnutrition, poverty
and poor sanitation."
Gauri Pradhan, executive member of the NHRC, said trafficking in
children and street children are the alarming problems of this region
requiring urgent attention.
Akina Shareef, representative from 'Save the Children' of Sweden,
underlined the need for building strong bond of relationship among
different human rights organisations working in the region for the
projection and promotion of child rights and welfare.
During the conference papers are being presented on themes like
Children in Armed Conflicts in South Asia, Right to Education,
Challenges in South Asia and Trafficking in Children, Regional
Perspective.
PTI |