MP Bhumika Shrestha Highlights Dire State of Child Correction Homes

Kathmandu. Rastriya Swatantra Party MP Bhumika Shrestha has drawn the government's attention to the dire condition of child correction homes in the country and called for reforms.   

Speaking at a meeting of the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee held at Singha Durbar on Sunday, MP Shrestha stated that although legal provisions exist for child correction homes, their implementation in practice is weak.  

She expressed this view while discussing a report prepared after monitoring correction homes in Bhaktapur, Rupandehi, and Kaski by the subcommittee on the status of human rights of children in child correction homes. MP Shrestha mentioned that the condition of the child correction home in Rupandehi was dire.  

 She emphasized the need for concrete steps by coordinating with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation to immediately relocate them. The report showed that in the Bhaktapur child correction home, security challenges have increased due to boys and girls being kept within the same compound, and girls have had to study only on alternate days due to lack of space.  

MP Shrestha objected to the fact that although the Children's Act, 2075 BS and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child do not allow children to be considered 'prisoners', they are addressed as prisoners in court verdicts in practice.  

MP Shrestha stated that many children in child correction homes are in cases of rape, and some of these are also cases where they have been framed due to 'early age affairs' or social misunderstandings. She argued that an appropriate mechanism is needed on how to legally manage love affairs that occur before reaching the legal age.

She pointed out that imposing long sentences even for minor offenses would have a serious impact on the future and socialization of children. MP Shrestha demanded that the places for individuals above and below 18 years of age should be separate and that the lack of physical infrastructure should be addressed immediately.