Kathmandu, September 14
Prime Minister Balen Shah has said that investment in children is an investment in the country’s brighter future.
Issuing a message on the occasion of National Children’s Day 2026, Prime Minister Shah said protecting children’s present and ensuring their rights is essential to building a prosperous future for the country.
National Children’s Day is being observed this year with the slogan ‘Protect Childhood, Secure the Future.’
According to Shah, the slogan highlights the importance of creating a safe and rights-based environment for children as a foundation for the nation’s future.
Nepal, as a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, has made an international commitment to principles including non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development, and the right to express views.
These principles have also been reinforced as fundamental and legal rights under Article 39 of Nepal’s Constitution, which guarantees children’s rights, as well as through the National Children’s Policy, 2080 and the Act Relating to Children, 2075.
Prime Minister Shah said the country’s key priority now should be to ensure that these constitutional and legal rights are actually experienced in the daily lives of every child.
He stressed the need for effective coordination, cooperation and accountability among the federal, provincial and local governments to achieve this goal.
According to Shah, the federal government should strengthen national policies and the legal and institutional framework, while provincial governments should focus on coordination and expanding services.
Similarly, local governments, as the level of government closest to children, should identify risks, provide protection and services, and create child-friendly environments, he said.
Shah said efforts by all three levels of government need to be brought together in a unified, results-oriented direction to ensure the protection and development of children.
