The raging armed conflict in Nepal is devastating the
nation's young people, who are being killed, maimed and subjected to many other
violations of their security and rights, according to a new report by the Watchlist
on Children and Armed Conflict. The report, "Caught in the Middle: Mounting
Violations Against Children in Nepal's Armed Conflict," documents the dangerous
reality for children in Nepal, which has been deteriorating since the end of the
cease-fire in 2003 and calls for immediate action to stop these abuses and an end to
impunity enjoyed by those who commit them. 

The report calls for immediate action to stop the spectrum of violations against
children in the context of armed conflict, including killing, maiming, torture, rape
and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools, abduction, trafficking,
forced labour, underage recruitment into fighting forces, forced displacement, death
and injury from landmines, and others.  

Watchlist's report presents the most comprehensive assessment to date on the
situation of children caught in armed conflict in Nepal. It provides the
international community, and particularly the UN Security Council, with detailed
evidence of abuses being committed against children by both parties to the armed
conflict.

For more information, contact:
Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict
c/o Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
122 East 42nd Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10168-1289, US
Tel: + 1 212 551 3111; Fax: + 1 212 551 3180
Email: watchlist@womenscommission.org
Website: http://www.watchlist.org

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=5101

After this month's seizure of absolute power by Nepal's King Gyanendra, a human
rights catastrophe is looming amidst heightened militarisation and an attack on
democracy. Amnesty International sent a delegation to Nepal, from 10-16 February to
assess the impact of the state of emergency on a rapidly deteriorating human rights
situation, as the "people's war" declared by the CPN (Maoist) on 13 February 1996
entered its tenth year.[Sources: CRIN]

To read Amnesty International's report, visit:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=5184