publications

V. Treatment of Children in the Ranks

Children play a variety of roles for the CPN (M), including participation in direct combat, carrying military supplies as porters, providing medical assistance, and propaganda activities such as recruiting of other children. Additionally, we found that children among Maoist cadres were isolated from their home, with almost no contact with their parents. Life in the ranks was tightly regulated, and attempts to escape were carefully guarded against and harshly punished.

In the line of fire

Regardless of their assigned roles, many children serving with Maoist forces were exposed to armed conflict. Some were combatants, but even if children served essentially support roles like those described above, they were called upon to provide such support during battles or encounters with government forces.

Children were also vulnerable to attacks by government forces, particularly during the chaos of a Maoist withdrawal from a pitched battle. One group of children interviewed by Human Rights Watch had been captured immediately after they had been involved in a massive Maoist assault on the government center in the western city of Tensen. Several of the children who spoke to Human Rights Watch described participating directly in combat; others told us about the terror they experienced when government helicopters chased them. Several of the children had been injured during combat, and had seen other children suffer injuries and even death.

Bikram, the 16-year-old from Jumla, had been involved in direct, bloody combat since age 15:

Once I was involved in a battle to release those in jail at the district headquarters of Jumla. The security forces had put many teachers and villagers into jail, so we attacked to get their release. There were 300 Maoists; I carried a gun. It was 10 at night; the battle lasted about an hour. I was very excited, very aggressive. One Maoist was killed and three were injured; eleven army and seven police killed; nine police captured. We released all of the prisoners (30 teachers, 20 villagers, 12 Maoists). While returning, we ran into crossfire between Jumla and Kalikot. One army soldier and three innocent civilians were killed.67

Bikram, who had received the most weapons training, was also unquestionably the most battle-hardened of the children we interviewed. All the other children we spoke with exhibited much greater fear and anxiety about their battle experiences.

Sixteen-year-old Pradeep, who had also received firearms training, described his terror the first time he engaged in combat, and how he was later injured:

I was in battle twice. The first time, the army attacked my group. There was one hour of fighting. I shot my gun. I was very frightened. The commanders told us to leave our arms and run away. No one was injured or killed. The second time, my group attacked the same soldiers. This was a month later. I was not frightened. The battle lasted five hours. Many were injured and killed: 30 killed and 60 injured (out of nearly one thousand). I had a slight injury to my abdomen.68

Several children who had been involved in the Maoist attack on the government facility in Tensen, and then fled the government’s sustained counterattack led by US-trained Rangers, described being caught up in the heavy fighting. According to Hem, who was 17 years old at the time of the attack, dozens, if not hundreds, of children of his age were involved in transporting military supplies before the attack, supporting combat troops during the assault, and providing medical assistance and even cover to retreating Maoist troops.69

Many of the children, who were not prepared for combat and who had only one grenade, were bewildered and frightened. Their superiors had warned them not to surrender, instead exhorting them to use their one grenade against government troops at the last moment.

Eighteen-year-old Padma told Human Rights Watch that her superiors had tried to discourage her from ever surrendering, warning her about the treatment she would receive from the Nepali army:

The commanders told us never to surrender. They told us to throw the grenade that we had into the troops and run away. When I said that I wouldn’t be able to do that, they said that the army would then arrest me, and if I surrender the army would torture and rape me.70

Padma described the circumstances of her capture to Human Rights Watch. She and several other Maoists, including children, were followed by government forces after the battle of Tensen. The small group of Maoists sought shelter in a house in a village, harried by government helicopters, which is where their commanders first told them not to surrender, and then essentially abandoned them:

We were staying in the house with our commanders; they went out and started firing at the helicopter, and they also told the others to come out. Then, when the second helicopter arrived, the commanders just threw their weapons in the house and left. The commanders told us to run and not to surrender, but we said we would surrender to the army. The commanders were outside of the house, still trying to convince us to run, saying, ‘You are going to surrender, we cannot let this happen—we would rather kill you.’ And then they shot at the house once from a submachine gun, and ran away.71  

Sixteen-year-old Maya was also captured in the retreat from Tensen. She said she was terrified to surrender because the Maoists talked a lot about what the army would do to the detainees, but at the same time felt that it was her chance to escape:

Then [after the battle of Tensen] we were fleeing—we just kept running, the locals were running away, helicopters were hovering around. After the commanders left the house where we were all hiding, we felt that it was our chance to finally leave the group. But it was too late, the army was bombing from helicopters, and we just had to wait inside.

Everybody was shaking from fear. The army encircled the house and told everybody to come out. Those who fled left their weapons inside—15 socket bombs and three rifles. The rifles belonged to the commanders.72

Another deterrent keeping children from surrendering was the possibility that they, or their families, would be punished by the Maoists. JS, a 19-year-old who was quite proud of his service with the Maoists (which began at age 17), spoke with Human Rights Watch a week after he had been captured by government forces after a difficult battle. His chief concern was that his former colleagues not think that he had surrendered, due to a combination of fear of reprisal and the possibility of missing out on future benefits:

If we don’t inform the party, they will adopt another behavior with us, but we are still doing the party’s work. If the party comes to the top [wins the conflict with the government], we will be treated differently. If the party knows we haven’t surrendered, the party will be good, if they don’t know we haven’t surrendered, then their approach to our families will be different…. If I can’t confirm I didn’t surrender, they may think my attachment to the party is less.73

Weapons training

All the children we interviewed had received at least rudimentary training in the use of weapons. Most of the children had been trained in how to use a grenade or socket bomb, while others had received more sophisticated instruction in the use of firearms. The testimony we received indicated that the Maoists had provided combat training to at least hundreds of children as young as 14 years old. The ceasefire has not stopped the Maoists’ policy of training children in the use of weapons. The OHCHR’s September report spoke of “credible reports” it and Nepali NGOs had received concerning weapons training given to some of the around 50 children OHCHR believed to have been recruited since the ceasefire (see above).74

One of the most alarming developments after the ceasefire has been that Maoists seem to have sped up the rate at which they train children in the use of firearms, subjecting children to weapons training very soon after recruiting them.75 Information gathered by Human Rights Watch and other international and Nepali monitors indicated that before the ceasefire, weapons training had been part of a broader course of ideological and political training.

Bikram, the 16-year-old boy from Jumla who had been recruited when he was 14, told Human Rights Watch that he had received military training in the use of firearms, along with many other children:

I had one month training in Kalikot: physical exercise, use of weapons, preparation of bombs, etc. We used M-16s [US-made machine-guns], INSAS [Indian-made assault rifle], and [European-made] SLR [“self-loading rifle”]. There were two thousand people in my training group. About one hundred were under 18.76

Sixteen-year-old Pradeep, from Dailekh district, had been 14 years old when he joined the Maoists. He also received instruction in the use of firearms, and told Human Rights Watch dozens of other children had received the same training along with him:

They took me to a training center that was seven days walk. They gave me training and used me to attract others. I was at the training center for six months. I learned to use the SLR, M-16s, pistols, grenades, and mines. We learned self-defense. There were 150 people there. About 15 or 16 were the same age as me (14 years old). All were under 18.77

Other children told Human Rights Watch they had received less extensive weapons training. Hem, a 17-year-old, said,

After joining the Maoists, I immediately joined a fighting group. They asked me how old I was, I said 16. They told me I was too young but I insisted. Five other boys joined at the same time. Two were older, the others were my age. Our training was three to four days long, on how to use weapons. Then it’s a learning process.I’ve received moderate training on how to use a rifle or bomb. I was in a fighting group when arrested, but I’ve never been in any direct fighting. We had one Chinese pistol and four mobile phones [at the time of capture].78

Other children told Human Rights Watch they had received only rudimentary training, though they had all received basic instruction in the use of handheld explosives—and had been issued at least one grenade or socket bomb to carry.

Padma, who was 18 years old when she spoke to Human Rights Watch but had been recruited two years earlier, said,

The Maoists gave me instructions on how to use it [a grenade]—they said I should just pull out the pin and throw it. I said, ‘This is too risky, I have no idea how to use it,’ but they said, ‘It’s all right, you’ll get to know.’79

Seventeen-year-old Kalawoti described her instruction on grenade use:

I also had one grenade and they taught me how to use it. They explained to me its mechanism, saying that there is a spring inside, and a pin, and that you need to take a pin out to activate it. They told me I would have to use it during the fighting, but I did not get to participate.

In some cases, the Maoists apparently did not provide children with more extensive weapons training because they were considered too young even for the CPN (M). Shyam, who was only 13 years old when he was recruited (he was 14 years old at the time of the interview) said, “The Maoists did not give me military training. I carried grenades and knew how to use them. They didn’t want to train me because of my age.80

Ram, a 16-year-old boy from Panchthar district who had been recruited when he was approximately 11 years old, initially viewed the grenade as a toy:

They gave me a grenade and told me to stand sentry. After the program, they divided us into groups. Some went east and some went west. This was the first day. When they gave me the grenade I didn’t know what it was, but they explained. I liked to carry it. It was like playing, but I was also afraid. I did two to three hours sentry duty, then someone else took the grenade.

As he grew older, Ram was transferred from a militia to a proper PLA company, and along the way was trained in the use of more complicated weapons:

The head of my group was the area commander [of a militia]. They taught me how to use rifles, locally made weapons. Fourteen people were trained; two were 16 years old; the rest were all older. Then we were transferred from the militia to a company. I didn’t carry weapons in the company, but worked as an informant, looking for security personnel.81

Combat support

Children performed many of the combat support roles for Maoist forces, including basic logistics and medical assistance. Even in such roles, and away from battle, though, children came face to face with violence and threats. Furthermore, it bears repeating here that the prohibition against using children extends to using them as cooks, porters, and messengers—not just as combatants.

Ramesh, who had been recruited as a 10-year-old, described how he had seen action even though he was mostly a sentry:

I was kept as a sentry boy. I would walk around to check on [government] security forces from morning until 4 or 5 p.m. We would use a cordless phone to report on the situation. There were 15 Maoists in my group. Two of us were under 18. I learned a little about guns. If we saw security forces, we would throw grenades. This happened two times.82

Ram, who had joined the Maoists when he was only 11 years old, joined a PLA company when he was 14, after three years in a militia group. In the PLA, he and other children were responsible for sentry duty and collecting food from villages, at times by intimidation:

I was in the company for one year. When we stayed in one place, I had to walk for three to four hours around the perimeter to look for security forces. I also looked for curd and vegetables from villagers. They gave it willingly. Then I had wounds on my legs (from leeches) so I came back to my own area. I was given the responsibility to search for food and meat for the company. We would collect donations from villagers. We would have a chat with them and ask them for food. Two or three friends [who were 14 to 15 years old] would go also. Some [villagers] gave willingly, but some we had to persuade. We would say, ‘We are fighting for you, for the people.’ There were some cheaters in the village, so we would have to threaten them. I don’t know [exactly how they would threaten them]. I would stand outside; my friends were inside. I did that for two years.83

Other children were assigned to medical duty (which could mean work as simple as carrying the injured) or menial work, such as cooking and portering. Maoist forces often recruit children for temporary stints as they were needed. One 17-year-old boy described how he had been taken from home, ostensibly for a short period, before he was caught by government troops after a particularly fierce battle:

I’m not in a fighting group, I was told that we are going on a campaign, and that’s how I was there. I was told I’m going for a campaign, you have to and cook for the battalion and go with medical people.84

Attempts to escape

Maoist forces closely watched the children in their ranks to make sure they did not escape. The children were forcibly kept apart from their parents; attempts at escape were harshly punished. Not only the children, but their families were vulnerable to punishment if the children fled service (for the related fears children had about surrender, see above).

Seventeen-year-old Kamala, who had been with the Maoists for two years, described the fear that kept her and other children in check:

It was very hard to flee, because they were watching new people very closely. Some of my friends tried to flee, but the Maoists then locked their houses and beat their family members—I was afraid the same would happen to my family if I attempted to escape.85

Seventeen-year-old Sita told Human Rights Watch that after the Maoists brought her back after she attempted an escape, they guarded her closely. They also prohibited her parents from seeing her. She said,

The Maoists then kept me locked in a room during the nights, my mother wanted to come see me, but they didn’t let her. The two ladies took me back [and] they again threatened me and said I should not even think of fleeing again… [Then] it was hard to run away because we walked at nights in the jungle, and I just wouldn’t know where to go. And during daytime we were locked inside houses and not even allowed to go to the toilet outside. Besides, if you try to run away, the Maoists will do harm to your family. 86

Eighteen-year-old Padma who was recruited at age 17 told Human Rights Watch,

I was thinking of fleeing. Some of my friends have fled already, and the commanders were very concerned and watched me all the time. Besides, I would have had no idea which way to go and I was always very tired—we had very little time to sleep.87

Sixteen-year-old Maya said,

I tried to flee, but I was caught and brought back. I tried three times, but never succeeded—as a punishment the Maoists forced me to carry heavy bags. Then I saw three people being severely beaten for trying to flee, and I didn’t try again.88

Other children confirmed Maya’s experience. Children who had already attempted escape were guarded particularly closely and punished by being forced to engage in hard labor. Seventeen-year-old Govinda, who had been kidnapped by the Maoists, explained that he had tried to escape nearly immediately:

I tried to flee. I pretended I had to pee, but the armed people surrounded me. I tried to surrender to security forces, but then the Maoists recaptured me, kept me at the high camp and forced me to do hard labor, like move rocks. They threatened if I fled again they would kill me and my family.89

For many children, the Maoists’ threats and the serious punishments meted out to captured escapees, or their families, were sufficient deterrents. Sixteen-year-old Birendra told Human Rights Watch,

I did not think about running away. If I had gone home, they would have come to my house and taken me away.90

Ram, who had been recruited when he was 11 years old, regretted joining the Maoists because of the difficulty of life in the ranks, even though as a particularly young recruit, he was exempt from carrying the heavier burdens. Nonetheless, he stayed on because of the Maoists’ serious threats:

It would have been better to stay at home because at night I had to walk long distances and work as a sentry. I didn’t like it; I didn’t get good sleep. [I thought about running away] many times. But I didn’t try because I was afraid the security forces would kill me. The Maoists told me they would kill me. Some others from the company ran away.91

The majority of children interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that they had not seen or been in touch with their families since they had been recruited, some of them for several years. Immediately after recruitment, while the children were still in their home district, the Maoists discouraged and prevented the contact, and later on it was not possible as the children were taken far away from their homes.

Fifteen-year-old Reema, who was recruited at age 14, told Human Rights Watch,

My family still does not know where I am. I asked the Maoists to let me go see my family, they promised, but then never arranged it, and then we left the village and it was not possible any more.92  

Seventeen-year-old Kamala, who has been with the Maoists for two years, said that she wanted to go home and see her family but the Maoists did not let her: “The Maoists kept telling me that they also have homes and families where they would like to go, but they don’t go, and I also shouldn’t think about it.”93

The forced separation from family was clearly one of the more difficult aspects of life for children serving with the Maoists, and one of the main reasons why they braved the Maoists’ threats and the dauntingly unfamiliar terrain they often found themselves in.  Fourteen-year-old Shyam described how his longing for his old life finally prompted him to flee:

They guarded the people so they would not run away. If I ran away, maybe they would shoot me. I escaped after three months. I didn’t like the Maoists. I wanted to study. I thought about my parents and my sisters. At night, I and a friend ran away.We asked villagers how to get to our home district. 94

Another serious deterrent to escape was the absence of a mechanism whereby children could return to their families. The deficiencies of the Nepali government response is discussed in the next section, but one aspect of the children’s difficult life is particularly relevant here: often, even if children escaped successfully, they could find themselves detained by government security forces and employed as forced labor.

After fourteen-year-old Shyam managed to elude the Maoists, he had no way to get back to his parents. He told Human Rights Watch,

We went to the police. They asked where we were from. They checked us [physically], and took us to our home district. We worked in the police station, in the canteen, cooking rice and making tea. We were at the police station for seven months. My uncle knew I was there. He found out after two months. My mother and father were both in India. Two sisters were in India also.95

Box: Ram’s escape

The story of 16-year-old Ram encapsulates many of the problems facing children serving with the Maoists. He joined the Maoists when he was only 11 years old and worked his way up to joining the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army. He saw action and regularly traveled with hard-core military units. But he is also still a child, homesick and exhausted from the difficulties of a soldier’s life. He dreams of a better life than that of a soldier.

The Maoists tried to prevent him from contacting his family, and threatened him against escaping. But when he received news of a family bereavement, he decided to take a risk. After a harrowing journey, he got home and surrendered to the Nepali military, but the government security forces did not have a program for rehabilitating child soldiers and instead put him to work as a laborer in the barracks. Only after Nepali media and children’s rights groups heralded his case did he receive some assistance. Nevertheless, like thousands of other Nepali children, he faces an uncertain future due to poverty and displacement:

“I heard that my grandmother was dead. At first I didn’t believe it. The Maoists denied that she was dead. I phoned my uncle who confirmed that she had died. I didn’t like that they had lied to me, so I left. And I didn’t like working at night, doing sentry duty.

One day I went to a place with Maoist leaders who were attending an evening program. I put my grenade and photos of Maoists [heroes] in a shop and took my bag and went to [a nearby village]. It was five hours walking. There was a strike, so there was no transportation. As I walked I met other Maoists, friends, and they asked where I was going. I couldn’t say I was running away, so I said I didn’t like my transfer and was going to another area. They took me for two hours by the riverside. They were planning a bomb attack against the military barracks, so they left me behind. I walked to another district, and when the strike ended, took a bus to Ilam [in the far east].

When I arrived at Ilam, my uncle took me to the police where I surrendered myself. But the police said I was only a child, and there was no need to surrender. So I went back with uncle. After two or three days, the army came and took me to barracks. At the barracks, they did not beat me. They interrogated me about my work, battles. I told them everything. The military said they would take me to those areas to point out the Maoist areas, but I was frightened and cried. The army captain brought me out to watch TV, and talked to my family on the phone. He gave me a sleeping bag. The next morning, the captain went on duty and lower-ranked army man told me to sweep the floor. In the evening, the captain came back and gave me food.

A journalist came to meet me and wrote about me in the newspapers. My uncle went to human rights groups, and the pressure from human rights groups and journalists got me released.  I was in the barracks for one-and-a-half months. Then I went back to my uncle’s. I was interviewed by Kantipur TV and the journalist talked to my uncle about taking me to CWIN. My uncle called CWIN and they gave him ICRC’s [the International Committee of the Red Cross] number. They took me to Peace House. I have been here for about one year. I am going to school, class 8. My father died a few months ago. My uncle told me that since there is no one at home, after class 10 he would send me abroad to work, maybe to Saudi Arabia. I want to be a doctor.”96




67 Human Rights Watch interview with Bikram (age 16, from Jumla), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006.

68 Human Rights Watch interview with Pradeep (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006.

69 Human Rights Watch interview with Hem (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006.

70 Human Rights Watch interview with Padma (age 18, from far western Nepal) Butwal, March 5, 2006. 

71 Ibid.

72 Human Rights Watch interview with Maya (age 16, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006.

73 Human Rights Watch interview with JS (age 19, from Kalikot), Butwal, March 5, 2006.

74 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, “Human Rights Abuses by the CPN (M): Summary of Abuses,” September 25, 2006.

75 Human Rights Watch email correspondence with Advocacy Forum, Kathmandu, August 30, 2006.

76 Human Rights Watch interview with Bikram (age 16, from Jumla district), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006.

77 Human Rights Watch interview with Pradeep (age 16, from Dailekh district), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006.

78 Human Rights Watch interview with Hem (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006.

79 Human Rights Watch interview with Padma (age 18, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 

80 Human Rights Watch interview with Shyam (age 14, from Taplejung), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006.

81 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006.

82 Human Rights Watch interview with Ramesh (age 15, from Tehrathu), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006.

83 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006.

84 Human Rights Watch interview with Govinda (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006.

85 Human Rights Watch interview with Kamala (age 17, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 

86 Human Rights Watch interview with Sita (age 17, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 

87 Human Rights Watch interview with Padma (age 18, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 

88 Human Rights Watch interview with Maya (age 16, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 

89 Human Rights Watch interview with Govinda (age 17, from Dadheldhuva), Butwal, March 5, 2006.

90 Human Rights Watch interview with Birendra (age 16, from Arghakanghan), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006.

91 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006.

92 Human Rights Watch interview with Reema (age 15, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006. 

93 Human Rights Watch interview with Kamala (age 17, from far western Nepal), Butwal, March 5, 2006

94 Human Rights Watch interview with Shyam (age 14, from Taplejung), Kathmandu, May 2, 2006.

95 Ibid.

96 Human Rights Watch interview with Ram (age 16, from Panchthar), Kathmandu, May 1, 2006.