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Stakeholders have laid emphasis that all should join hands to prevent and end human trafficking as it is a heinous crime.

They said so at an interaction organized by All Nepal Women's Association on the occasion of 17th National Day against Human Trafficking here on Wednesday.

On the occasion, Chairperson of Shakti Samuha, Charimaya Gurung, said political parties should not protect criminals involved in human trafficking.

She pointed out the need to bring those involved in such a heinous crime under the ambit of law.

Similarly, social campaigner Gauri Pradhan said that not only the women, men are also becoming the victims of human trafficking in recent periods. 

Other speakers at the program also laid emphasis that all should be active in their respective places to prevent human trafficking.

Officiating Chairperson of ANWA, Sumitra BC, mentioned that the ANWA has been working to prevent human trafficking since long and the program was organized with an objective of preventing it.

Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) Chairman Mahantha Thakur has said the Madhes agendas are not watered down, but relevant and vibrant.

Addressing the extended meeting of DSP Province Committee at Bardibas on Monday, Chairman Thakur reminded that the party would reach the agendas of the party establishment time to the people again. "Some of the political agendas we raised were established based on movement. However, the suppression from the state is continuous," he reminded, adding that the party cadres are still facing false charges over the Madhes movement.

He urged the party leaders and cadres to reach every doorstep of the people and make them aware about achievements of the Madhes movement and active for further rights.

Top leaders Rajendra Mahato, Sharad Singh Bhandari and Anil Kumar Jha among others were present in the meeting.

Province committee Chairman Jitendra Sonal said that the objective of the extended meeting of the party's Madhes province committee is to set further agendas and strategies in Madhesh. "We move ahead by meticulously analyzing the performance of the party. The weaknesses would be identified and measures for solution sought to take ahead the Madhesh movement," he shared.

He further claimed that the party would reach the people along with Madhesh agendas again.

Before the election to the first constituency assembly in 2064 BS, the leaders from Madhes left the mainstream parties and formed Tarai/Madhesh Loktantrik Party based on the foundation of the Madhes movement.

Those to join the bandwagon were leader Thakur, Mahendra Ray Yadav, Sarvendra Nath Shukla, and Brishesh Chandra Lal, among others. But the party then witnessed a series of splits and mergers and arrived at this stage.

Currently, the party is engrossed in expanding organizational base at local level.

Duhabi Municipality of Sunsari district has handed over residential homes to the Dalit, marginalized and destitute community.

Eighty households were provided the homes constructed in over two bighas of land at the cost of Rs 70 million.

Municipality mayor Bed Narayan Gachchhadar said that the homes made under 'Mayor-residence project' were distributed to the poor households on Monday.

Each house has the facilities of drinking water, toilet and electricity. Even a community building is made for the households where they can conduct traditional rituals such as marriage and tonsure ceremonies.

For the handover of the homes, the municipality picked 80 from among 200 applications it received for it. Remaining applicants would be provided similar residential homes in near future, according to Mayor Gachchhadar.

The local government is planning to manage the schooling free of cost to the children of poor families which got homes.

Similarly, the guardians will be provided skill-oriented training to foster self-employment.

Meanwhile, the municipality has said it was continuously monitoring the encroachment upon public spaces and settlement of squatter dwellers.

If any squatter dweller is found having his/her own home, he/she would be taken action, the municipality warned.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed the government's commitment to establishing a credible transitional justice process to uncover the truth, providing reparations to the survivors.

In his address to the National Conference on Sentencing Regime in the Context of Transitional Justice Process in Nepal here today, the Prime Minister pledged to bring those responsible for grave human rights violations to justice and move towards establishing reconciliation in society. "In this endeavor, we will be guided by the Comprehensive Peace Accord, the directives of the Supreme Court of Nepal, and relevant international commitments, as well as the concerns of the victims."

In the event organized by Advocacy Forum and International Commission on Jurists (ICJ), the Prime Minister called for a strong support from all walks of the society including survivors, civil societies, political parties and international community to conclude the process successfully.

Stating that though the Bill to amend the Enforced Disappearance and Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2014 was tabled in the Parliament in July 2022, the document could not be passed because the expiry of the tenure of the parliament, the Prime Minister said," After the commencement of the new parliament, the bill has been registered with some reform and now is under consideration in the parliamentary committee.  We hope that the Committee will resolved some of the issues that have been raised by the stakeholders."

He said that if the Bill is endorsed by the House, it will open a space for the development of a comprehensive and coherent transitional justice strategy that will allow Nepal to achieve both the greatest possible satisfaction of the rights of survivors and a lasting peace.

"The new constitution itself is the product of the peace agreement which incorporates almost all human rights enshrined in the international human rights law. The immediate enforceability of the economic, social and cultural rights in the constitution, can be marked as the major achievement which was a key agenda of the conflict," the Prime Minister said.

Also speaking at the program, former Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha said it would not take much time to conclude the transitional justice process if ‘justice' was prioritized through the whole process.  "We are in the course of a sustainable peace in the nation and the goal is achievable if the essence of justice is prioritized."  He was of the opinion of making the Bill relating to transitional justice widely-acceptable and concluding the peace process without any further delay.

Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the United Nations resident coordinator of Nepal, underscored the importance of involving stakeholders and survivors in the transitional justice process to ensure its effectiveness.

Santiago A Canton, the secretary general of ICJ, echoed the need to prioritize the concerns of survivors in the transitional justice process.

Suman Adhikari, a representative from the survivors' community, urged the Prime Minister and political leaders to pay special attention to conclude the process, ensuring justice for survivors.

President of Sustainable Development and Good Governance under the National Assembly, Prakash Panth, has urged people's representatives to engage in initiatives that promote good governance.

According to him, good governance is still not a priority of people's representatives when it is a prime need of the hour. "People's representatives are highly expected to engage in efforts aiming to combat malpractices, irregularities and corruption so as to establish good governance."

The parliamentary committee president said," Parliamentary committees are also needed to act efficiently against corruption, irregularities and mismanagement."

He said efforts to promote good governance and achieve the sustainable development goals have been overshadowed due to competition among people's representatives and political leaders to secure larger budgets for their respective electoral constituencies.

Stating the 16th five-year periodic plan has accorded top priorities to good governance, social justice and prosperity, President Panth stressed the need of importance for people's representatives to advocate for and contribute to establishing good governance in administrative sphere and in judiciary.  

Meanwhile, the Committee has constituted a three-member sub-panel under the coordination of its member Ramesh Jung Rayamajhi to monitor and assess the status of good governance.

It will also hold discussions with state bodies and the stakeholders concerned on the matter.

The subcommittee comprises Narayan Prasad Dahal and Sharada Devi Bhatta as its members.

Children were increasingly at risk of sexual abuse through internet, a study showed.

In a program organized to unveil the findings of a study conducted by Bal Awaj, an organization based in Lalitpur, it was found that children below 18 years were sexually abused through the internet.

The study conducted among 514 children in Koshi and Bagmati Provinces revealed that children were asked for obscene pictures by strangers on the internet and their pictures would be morphed to defame them.

In the study, 73 percent of children admitted that they accessed the internet through Wi-Fi while 14 percent from mobile data and 13 percent from both sources, said Krishna Kumar Thapa, executive director of Bal Awaj.

Actions such as asking for obscene photos from children and sending insensitive messages among others by using the internet were acts of sexual misbehavior and abuse against children.

Attorney General Dr Dinmani Pokharel opined that online crime would not only affect socially but also psychologically. Stating that earlier cases of sexual abuse against children were reported at physical level, he said that children were prone to sexual abuse through internet lately, which, he added, immensely affected children psychologically.

He called for raising awareness about the laws put in place to protect children from abuses in all forms. According to him, the findings of the study would be a 'milestone' for formulation of law regarding protection of children from cybercrimes.

It is stated that actions such as asking for obscene photos from children and sending insensitive messages among others by using the internet were acts of sexual misbehavior and abuse against children.

Similarly, CDO of Lalitpur, Rudra Prasad Pandit, expressed his concern over more and more children being subjected to sexual abuse through internet these days.

He demanded for the provision in the 'setting' of every mobile phone that would prevent websites showing sexual videos of children.

Likewise, SSP Siddhi Bikram Shah lamented that if even there were complaints from victim children about sexual abuse, there was problem in taking action against culprit of sexual abuse against children in lack of resources to find out where actually the sexual abuse took place.

He informed that the 'Child Save Mode' was put in Wi-Fi to prevent children from accessing porn sites.

Likewise, Nepal Bar Association President Gopal Krishna Ghimire viewed that children should be kept away from laptop, mobile and iPad use.

Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the basis for the county's transformation could be prepared only by transforming the Maoist party.

Addressing a program organized by the Valley Special Province Committee of the CPN (Maoist Center) in the Capital on Tuesday, Chairman Dahal said that transformation of the Maoist is a mandatory condition.

"A campaign with a new determination of the country's transformation has been initiated. We will move ahead further accelerating it. Transformation of the CPN (Maoist Center) is mandatory for the same," he said.

Stating that the government has forwarded a campaign of good governance with determination, Chairman Dahal clarified that the campaign would not be stopped. 

"The government will take action against all involved in illegal and criminal activities like fake Bhutanese refugee scam, gold smuggling and corruption. It will not be stopped. We will move ahead with strong determination," Dahal further said.

He pointed out the need of qualitative development for the country's prosperity, stressing the need of changing the model of development.

"The traditional development model cannot guide the country towards the path of prosperity. There is a need for qualitative transformation for the same. We cannot always carry the failed development model with us. We will move ahead with a new economic policy and plan by the time of the next budget," he said.

Moreover, Dahal said that the government has taken various steps in the interest of the country and the people, and the people will soon be able to reap the benefits.

A visiting delegation of industrialists from South Korea including Ambassador to Nepal Park Tae-Young called on Minister for Physical Infrastructures and Transport Prakash Jwala and sought a proposal for the investment in the infrastructure sector in Nepal.

During the meeting held at the Minister's office in Singh Durbar on Monday, the delegation reminded them that they were investing in Nepal's hydropower, and now ready to invest in the infrastructure sector as well.

Ambassador Park said South Korea is ready to invest in the roadway and railway in Nepal. So, the government of South Korea is prepared to hold thorough discussion on any concrete project to this regard, he said.

He also recalled that although Nepal and South Korea were ready for Korean investment in the infrastructure sector in 2018, change in government obviated the signing of agreement.

After some months, the establishment of diplomatic ties between Nepal and South Korea is reaching 50 years. South Korea is interested to utilize the occasion with investment in Nepal.

In response, Minister Jwala said he would make utmost initiative to prepare a proposal for the investment. If significant agreements on Korean investment in infrastructure were made, it would further strengthen two-country relations.

He thanked the Korean government for providing training to Nepali engineers at different times.