Experts and rights advocates on Tuesday underscored the need for measures to effectively eliminate and prevent child labour in Nepal.

Participants of Shramadhan Sambad, a discussion series organised by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, demanded that the government take concrete steps to abolish child labour and safeguard child rights.

Ram Prasad Gautam, a child protection officer at UNICEF, stated that effective implementation of legal provisions requires strong commitment from the state.

Effective implementation is interlinked with many factors, including setting up structures, allocating sufficient resources, providing effective services, and introducing programs aligned with legal provisions.

“The commitments should be backed by efforts such as eradicating poverty, ensuring quality education, and implementing social security measures to translate international pledges into action,” Narayan Bhattarai, national project manager at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said.

“What we need to realise is that we have plans and strategies, but for these to work, we need both social and political will. This includes greater collaboration with like-minded government agencies, stakeholders, CSOs, media, academia, and most importantly, children,” said Ayush Joshi, director of advocacy, campaigns, communications and media at Save the Children, Nepal and Bhutan.

“At Save the Children, we constantly advocate that for policies and plans on children to be effective, we must consider their lived experiences and ensure their voices and opinions are heard and respected. Our policies, plans, and strategies need to be child-informed and ensure the meaningful participation of children directly and indirectly impacted by child labour. Furthermore, we need to reconsider and evaluate if our policies and strategies are viewed from an intersectional lens, as children from underrepresented groups are more vulnerable. Therefore, our approach to addressing child labour shouldn’t be siloed and should consider new trends, such as children’s and young people’s access to digital spaces, and how this has created an entry point to the labour market, and the far-reaching impact of climate change on child labour,” Joshi added.

According to Pragya Lamsal of Adara Development, children in Nepal are still subjected to severe exploitation, including commercial sexual exploitation, despite the government’s commitment.

“Children from families below the poverty line are particularly vulnerable to risks. When families face financial difficulties, children often seek work to support their parents,” Lamsal shared.

There are multiple causes of child labour, including its worst forms, she said, adding that responsible agencies should address these interlinked causes for effective intervention. She also highlighted the need to recognise the multidimensional nature of child labour issues and to put forth efforts accordingly.