Government Urged to Show Sensitivity in Ensuring Rights and Protection of Squatter and Homeless Children
April 30, Kathmandu – Stakeholders have called on the government to demonstrate sensitivity toward the situation of landless and squatter community children. The government’s program, initiated on April 25, to evict squatter settlements has reportedly caused serious difficulties for children, lactating women, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women. Advocates stress the need for government responsiveness on this matter.
The Children’s Peace Zone National Campaign (CPZ), Child-Friendly Local Governance National Forum, and Child Development Society jointly organized a discussion forum to address the issues arising from the government’s process of clearing landless and squatter settlements. The conversation focused on the problems emerging in education, health, protection, and psychological wellbeing of affected children.
According to Article 16 of Nepal’s Constitution, all citizens have the right to live a dignified life. Participants emphasized that the government must implement these constitutional rights with due sensitivity. The discussion was chaired by CPZ President Tilottama Paudel and included notable attendees such as Deputy Secretary Durga Prasad Chalise from the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Khimananda Basyal of the National Human Rights Commission, and Devi Dotel of the National Child Rights Council. Over 40 stakeholders, including NSCG President Ritu Bhatt Rai, land engineer Bhagwati Adhikari, Subash Nepali, and INSEC’s Krishna Gautam, also participated.
Participants identified a lack of effective coordination between legal frameworks, procedural protocols, information dissemination, and governmental agencies as a major challenge in the eviction process. This gap has adversely affected vulnerable groups, including children, postpartum and pregnant women, people with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, chronically ill individuals, and school-going children preparing for exams or newly enrolled.
Accounts were shared of students taking their class 12 exams while their homes were being demolished by bulldozers, as well as difficulties faced by families forced to sell essential daily supplies to breastfeed infants. Stakeholders recommended a two-phase approach: first, proper data collection of squatters and landless populations, followed by appropriate residential arrangements before any settlement removal.
The government was criticized for exacerbating hardship by forcibly demolishing homes instead of engaging with marginalized, Dalit, and at-risk families and the guardians of vulnerable children. The psychological impact on children witnessing their homes and schools destroyed has been overlooked, the discussion highlighted. Participants also raised concerns about the disruption of children’s access to identity documents, birth registration, educational certificates, textbooks, school uniforms, and age-appropriate nutritious food caused by the evictions. Additional attention must be given to prevent violence, abuse, and protect confidentiality in holding centers or alternative accommodations.