Kathmandu, March 1

An estimated seven per cent of children in the country have moved outside their birthplace between 2011 and 2016, shows a recent data of Children and Women in Social Services and Human Rights.

Krishna Subedi, team leader at CWISH, informed that child labour, violence against children and trafficking were increasing because of the migration factor. “The migration trend of children between the age of five and seven years has been on the rise after the 2015 earthquakes,” Subedi pointed out.

Subedi, who has been conducting research on child labour in Nepal, examined that an estimated 3.5 million children have migrated from their place of birth.  The National Child labor Report 2012 showed that 10 per cent  of those children are economically active, 10 per cent are employed and 26 per cent are seeking employment.

“Such children were getting away from the rights. To ensure their rights, Nepal also has adopted international campaign ‘Destination unknown, Children on move’,” said Subedi. Often times, parents push their children to work due to poverty. A confluence of financial problems and personal reasons force the children to move away from their home to unknown destinations.