KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) and Central Children Welfare Board (CCWB) today have expressed deep concerns over the use of children above class eight in a human chain proposed to be organised on Friday.

They strongly expressed that the programme’s intention to raise issues of violation of child rights at the national and international levels can be achieved even without children’s participation, hence, urged the stakeholders not to use children in any manner in their actions.

In reaction to the violation of right to education of Nepali children, due to the ongoing Tarai/Madhes agitation and the unofficial blockade imposed by India, Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (PABSON), National Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (NPABSON) and student unions had informed they would form a human chain along the 27-kilometer Ring Road at 11:00 am tomorrow.

MoWCSW spokesperson Naryan Prasad Kafle and CCWB Executive Director Tarak Dhital said that every child has a right to express their opinion and it needs to be appreciated. However, steps that affect their right to read in a peaceful environment are condemnable, they added in the joint statement.

Around 7.1 million children are directly or indirectly affected by the current situation in Nepal. The government is fully committed to ensure and work for child rights as per the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, the statement reads.