Kathmandu, July 7

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare CP Mainali today vowed to take action against child care homes that have been forcing children to convert to another religion in the name of social work.

Speaking at a discussion programme organised here today by Crime Investigation Department of Nepal Police and Central Child Welfare Board, DPM Mainali said many child care homes were printing religious books and forcing children to convert to another religion.

“Forcing innocent children to convert to another religion is a violation of child rights,” DPM Mainali said, adding, “It is the responsibility of the state to ensure their rights.” He stated that the constitution had guaranteed religious freedom to all and hence children had the right to practice the religion of their choice once they reached adulthood.

“Proselytising children is illegal. The ministry will take action against child care homes involved in converting children,” he added. He strongly objected to the trend of foreigners establishing child care homes with the mission of converting the poor and the helpless to another religion.

He also urged Nepalis not to covert to another religion in the hope of getting scholarship in foreign universities or a visa for a foreign country.

CID chief AIGP Bigyan Raj Sharma said police should be introduced to children as their friend.

He also said that they were trying to make their organisation friendly towards children and women. “We work for the people. We cannot work effectively without public support,” he added.

Dilli Ram Giri, chairperson, CCWB, said child care homes were for children who have lost their parents. “But most of the child care homes have been keeping children who have parents,” he said, adding that there were more than 18,000 child care homes in the country.

Tarak Dhital, executive director, CCWB, said everyone should be sensitive towards implementing child rights.

Inspector Bhakta Bahadur Bista, chief, Children Search Coordination Centre, mostly children from poor families went missing and were forced into hard labour or trafficked. “In the current fiscal year, the centre found a total of 211 abandoned children from different parts of the Valley.

We reintegrated 117 children with their family and 84 have been staying in various child care homes,” he said, adding, most of the abandoned children were between the ages of 11 and and 15 years.