child domestic workers have never gone to schools, 40 percent have had to drop their school education; and only 11 percent are attending the school; even among these children, most hardly get time to study at the employer’s home. Sixtyfour percent of them work 10 to 14 hours a day and 20 percent work 14 hours a day. Paid leave, rest and recreation are rare. Fifty-one percent of the child domestic workers have poor health and 7 percent have serious injuries. Twelve percent of the children are working as bonded labourers; 32 percent have not been paid wages; and 10 percent have no idea about their wage. More than half (59%) of the workers have suffered from various forms of abuses by the employers and 14 percent are sexually abused. Only 16 percent of employers treat them well. It is estimated that some of the 36,000 children aged 5-14 years are possibly facing “at-risk” working conditions in the manufacturing and construction industries. Furthermore, estimated 127,000 children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour. Violence against children: Physically and verbal punishment of children is common in Nepal. The notion that a little bit of beating is necessary for disciplining children is widely accepted and thus practiced. The incidents of physical abuse of children by their employers appear almost regularly in the newspapers and verbal abuse is pervasive. Likewise, many schools allow corporal punishment and there have been incidents of serious incidents of abuse even leading to serious injuries and death. Also, abandonment of children and violence on children, at times resulting to death, are increasing. Other heinous forms of violence against children are sexual abuse and involving children in prostitution. In the year 2002, 91 cases of child sex abuse were recorded. Of the estimated 440 commercial sex workers in Kathmandu, 30 percent were children. In the 18 same year, 137 cases of trafficking were recorded; among them 49 were children. It is reported that about 20% (30,000) of the total number of trafficked women are young girls under the age of 16 years. Various reports have suggested that a sizeable portion of Maoists militia is underage — 30% of Maoist militia are reportedly children below 18 years of age. Many children have been abducted from the school for the purpose of involving them in violent activities. The children are trained and used not only as soldiers but also as spies and porters. In addition, the laws of Nepal apparently create a state of confusion in relation to the definition of a child in terms of age. The Children’s Act of Nepal, The Labour Act, The Election Law, The Chapter on Marriage of the Muluki Ain and several other Chapters of Muluki Ain are inconsistent with each other regarding the definition of child. E. Access to adequate food, access to health care services, including preconditions for health, access to secure shelter and equal opportunity to participate in economic activities to support the fundamental basic needs are the most pressing issues faced by a large number of population. In the absence of any of these elements, neither the civil and political rights of the people can be fulfilled meaningfully nor can the hope for creation of a peaceful and just society be realised. Food: Forty-five districts (60%) of Nepal, a country that once used to export food, are categorized as foodscarce areas. The problem of food scarcity is acute in the hills and mountains, especially in the far western and mid-western regions. Production as