KATHMANDU, JUN 19 - Concerned over the increasing cases of children migrating from earthquake-affected villages without proper documentation and procedures, the Home Ministry has alerted all the 75 chief district officers to take measures to control child trafficking.
The move follows reports of the missing whereabouts of 237 child survivors from Gorkha and Okhaldhunga districts, who had left their homes after the Great Earthquake.
After the April 25 quake, authorities in the affected districts, and elsewhere in the country, reported a rise in the number of children transported from their homes and villages by individuals or groups to cities and other places in the name of better future and education.
Child rights groups including the Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) have been repeatedly warning parents not to allow their children to travel with any individual or group without proper documents and approval from the district childcare offices, fearing that they could fall victim to traffickers.
On Thursday, the ministry released a circular stating that the government was seriously concerned about the illegal movement of children, especially from remote villages and poor families, without the due procedure and permission from the authorities.
"The local authorities should not allow the movement of children from their home villages to other places without approval from the CCWB. If there is an urgent need to relocate a child, the district childcare committees should conduct proper investigation before allowing the movement of children," said Yagya Raj Koirala, under-secretary at the ministry.
The directive wants a strict monitoring mechanism in place and effective implementation of the existing legal policy that only those children who have no parents or close relatives and are homeless may be taken to childcare homes or orphanages.
"The government calls for stringent action against all those found involved in child trafficking in both earthquake-affected and other districts," said Koirala.
Authorities have rescued 337 children from different parts of the country including Dhading, Dolakha, Kavre, Okhaldhunga, Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Lamjung and Rukum districts.
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