Kathmandu. The Minister of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security Sita Badi has followed up the National Child Rights Council and given nine instructions.
On Thursday morning, Minister Badi, along with a team from the ministry and the minister’s secretariat, reached the council’s Pulchok office and gave necessary instructions to the council regarding the protection of children, promotion of child rights and institutional reforms.
The council staff were taken by surprise when the minister arrived at the office without prior notice. Recently, Minister Badi expressed her displeasure with the performance of the council regarding the rescue and management of children from orphanages who were at risk and instructed the staff, saying, “Children are being put at risk in the name of orphanages. We must protect our children from this situation now. Do not grant permission to open a new orphanage till further decision.’
Minister Badi has instructed to submit to the minister within seven days the details of the work done from the day he assumed office to Asar 18, including the job description of all the employees working in the council and the contract, if any.
Similarly, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance of the government, she has also instructed to submit to the minister within five days the complete details of the assistance received and the programs conducted since the establishment of the council from bilateral and multilateral development partners and international organizations for the promotion of child protection and child rights.
Various sub-committees are currently active in the council. In the context of questioning the validity of that sub-committee for a long time, Minister Badi has instructed to submit the minutes of the meetings of the council and all the sub-committees under it to the minister within three days.
Minister Badi has also directed to start immediate monitoring of high-risk children’s homes and submit an action plan for necessary improvements.
Under the ninth point of the directive, the council has been instructed to submit to the minister within 5 days the details of the number of applications and complaints received, the status of their disposal and the reason for the pending applications and complaints.
The National Child Rights Council is a body established under Section 59 of the Children Act, 2075.