The Supreme Court has ordered the respectful social management of child soldiers who fought in the then Maoist war.

Issuing a mixed mandate on a writ petition regarding child military abuse, the Supreme Court has stated that it is necessary to take necessary steps to create a conducive environment for the respectful social reintegration of the then child soldiers.

A full bench of three judges on Friday issued the mandate in the name of the government and the defendants. The bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Sunil Kumar Pokharel and Shantisingh Thapa issued the mixed mandate.

The mandate came in a writ petition filed in the Supreme Court by nine people, including Lenin Bista, who participated in the Maoist war but was later dismissed as an 'unfit' combatant. The Supreme Court has stated that the previous orders and obligations issued in the name of the conflict victims have not been complied with by the stakeholders.

 The bench has held that the 'principle of continuous violation' is applicable to the petitioners. 'Unlike any isolated incident that occurred in the past, the failure of the Government of Nepal to rehabilitate these individuals is perpetuating the unjust situation day by day and is giving rise to continuous action accordingly,' the order said. 

The order also states that social reintegration programs are indispensable to address the psychological trauma, fear, insecurity and social exclusion caused by the conflict. 'It is the legal obligation of the state to reintegrate individuals who have been separated from society due to the conflict, not a matter of mercy or charity, into society.' Therefore, it seems necessary to take necessary steps to create a conducive environment for the dignified social reintegration of the petitioners,' the order said. 

Similarly, the bench also reminded the concerned parties that even after twenty-four years of Nepal ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (OPAC) on the involvement of children in armed conflict, there is no domestic law that classifies the recruitment of children in armed conflict as a punishable criminal offence.

The bench found that the absence of such a law in itself constitutes a continuing violation of Nepal's treaty obligations under Article 4(2) of the OPAC. This not only constitutes a policy gap, but also affects the right to effective remedies as required by Article 46 of the Constitution of Nepal, the order stated. The order further stated, 'This bench also notes that the Third Amendment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Act excludes the use of child soldiers from the definition of 'serious human rights violations'.'

The dispute reached the full bench of three judges on 1 Baisakh 2082. The debate on the final verdict began on 22 Magh 2082. Immediately after, it was decided to set a deadline for the verdict on 28 Falgun. But the deadline was postponed to 5 Jestha 2083 and 27 Jestha.

Nine people, including Lenin Bista, a former child soldier of the then Maoists, had filed a writ petition on 28 Jestha 2080, making two former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai the defendants.

At that time, UNMIN had expelled 400 combatants, including child soldiers, from the camp as unfit. They claimed that they were used at that time and were expelled after the peace agreement as unfit.