Nepal's Supreme Court ruled the state left nearly 3,000 former child soldiers without justice or rehabilitation and never made recruiting children a crime.
Subject of this story
Also named
What happened
On 12 June 2026 a full bench of Nepal's Supreme Court (Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Sunil Pokharel and Shanti Singh Thapa) found that the amended Transitional Justice Act left the recruitment of children during the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency out of its definition of serious human rights violations, even though Nepal joined the UN optional protocol on children in armed conflict 24 years ago. Of 4,008 combatants rejected from army integration, 2,973 were verified as minors; the court found they received Rs10,000 on discharge and a promised Rs200,000 was never fully paid, against Rs500,000-800,000 for adult combatants, and called the failure to rehabilitate them a continuing violation of their rights. It ordered the government to criminalise recruiting or using under-18s, amend the transitional justice law, stop labelling former child combatants 'disqualified' in official records, and arrange reintegration, while leaving individual accountability of former Maoist leaders to the transitional justice commissions. No government compliance was reported.
By the numbers (2)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Figures
1 source
- Kathmandu Post
Among 4,008 combatants rejected from integration, 2,973 were verified as minors
1 source
- Kathmandu Post
promised Rs200,000 per person never fully implemented
Sources (3)
Response
Not yet contacted for this story.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.