The Supreme Court has directed the government to enact laws criminalising the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18 in military forces and to classify such acts as serious human rights violations.

A full bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Sunil Pokharel and Shanti Singh Thapa issued the ruling in response to a writ petition filed by former Maoist combatant Lenin Bista.

Bista had challenged amendments to two transitional justice laws, arguing that they failed to address the concerns of former child soldiers associated with the decade-long Maoist insurgency.

In its ruling, the court ordered the government to introduce legal provisions making the recruitment or use of children in armed forces a punishable offence. It also instructed state agencies to stop referring to former child combatants in official records as “disqualified” or “discharged” combatants.

The court said such labels were discriminatory and inconsistent with constitutional guarantees of dignity and equality, as well as Nepal’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Since it is appropriate to provide individuals with a dignified identity, state agencies shall refrain from using derogatory terms such as ‘disqualified’ or ‘discharged’ in documents and records relating to conflict-affected persons like the petitioner,” the verdict states.

The court also found that financial support provided to former child combatants had been inadequate. According to the judgment, those discharged from the Maoist cantonments received only Rs10,000 each, while an additional commitment of Rs200,000 per person was not fully implemented.

The bench noted that these relief measures fell short, particularly when compared with adult Maoist combatants who opted for voluntary retirement and received between Rs500,000 and Rs800,000.

The ruling further held that the state’s failure to rehabilitate and reintegrate former child combatants amounted to a continuing violation of their rights.

“Unlike a single event in the past, the government’s failure to rehabilitate these individuals has perpetuated an unjust situation continuously,” the court said, stressing the need for social reintegration programmes to address trauma, insecurity and social exclusion resulting from the conflict.

Referring to the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government and the then Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the court observed that despite the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms and existing national and international legal obligations, the state had not taken sufficient steps to ensure the rehabilitation and reintegration of conflict victims.

The bench also expressed concern that the third amendment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act excluded the use of child soldiers from the definition of “serious human rights violations”.

The court therefore directed the government to immediately initiate legal reforms prohibiting the recruitment or use of anyone aged 18 or below in any military force and making such acts punishable by law.

However, the court declined to issue an order seeking the prosecution of former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai for alleged war crimes related to the recruitment and use of child soldiers during the conflict.

The verdict said questions of individual accountability for command-level decisions taken during the armed conflict should be addressed through constitutionally mandated transitional justice bodies, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons.

“The question of individual accountability remains open and can be addressed through reports and recommendations prepared by the transitional justice mechanisms,” the court said. “There is no need for further observation by this court on that matter.”