Kathmandu, May 25 :

Saying that sentry posts located on school and college premises would be removed immediately, Deputy Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said today sentry posts would never be established on school and college premises.

Speaking at an interaction on ‘Remains of War and Children: Role of Stakeholders for the Protection of Children’, organised by the CWIN, Oli said, “The the government recognises the children and educational institutions as the Zone of Peace”.

“The government is preparing to sign the Human rights accord and committed to safeguarding the rights of the citizens,” he said.

Ek Raj Bhandari, a representative of the CPN (Maoist), said, “Though we (the Maoists) are not signatory to the international human rights conventions, we are committed to upholding the norms of the conventions and eager to solving the issues accordingly.”

Rights situation cannot remain unaffected during the time of conflict in the country, Bhandari said, adding, children would definitely be affected due to the conflict.

“If the political crisis is not solved immediately, more lives might be lost,” Bhandari warned.

Kieran Dwyer, spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, delivered the message of Ian Martin on the subject, which read, “It is important that the state authorities, the CPN (Maoist), protection and humanitarian agencies and donors work in a coordinated way to implement effective programmes to assist children who have suffered due to the conflict. This involves reintegrating children, who have been recruited into armed forces as fighters or in auxiliary roles, into the society; addressing health needs of those hurt during fighting, respecting and reinvigorating the education sector, especially in rural Nepal, and ensuring that children remain safe from the leftovers of war, namely unexploded ordnance.”