Children in Nepal are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including commercial sexual exploitation and forced begging. Children also perform dangerous tasks in producing bricks. (1,2) In 2021, the Government of Nepal, along with the ILO, published disaggregated data on child labor in Nepal based on the Nepal Labor Force Survey from 2017–2018. The report estimated that the total number of children engaged in child labor was approximately 1.1 million, around 15 percent of the total children between the ages of 5 and 17 years. (2,3) Of these, 200,000 children, or 3.2 percent, were engaged in hazardous work. Additionally, approximately 74 percent of children who were engaged in the informal sector were employed in hazardous work conditions, and 87 percent were engaged in the agricultural sector. (2,3) Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in Nepal. Data on some of these indicators are not available from the sources used in this report.

Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2019, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2022. (4) 
Source for all other data: International Labor Organization's analysis of statistics from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 5 (MICS 5), 2014. (5) 

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children's work by sector and activity.

† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Nepali women and girls are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, both within and outside Nepal, including to India, the Middle East, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. (6,22,23) Traffickers lure people from marginalized castes and ethnic minority communities. (6) They utilize the porous border between India and Nepal to transport women and children for sex trafficking. (6) Among 134 human trafficking cases registered with the police in Nepal's fiscal year 2020–2021, 79 of the victims were children. (24) Traffickers promise families work and education opportunities for their children but instead bring them to under-resourced and unregistered orphanages in urban centers, where the children are subjected to forced labor and forced begging on the streets. In addition, there are reports that some orphanages keep children in destitute and unsanitary conditions to attract charitable donations from foreigners. (6,20,21)

The entertainment sector was closed intermittently during the reporting period due to COVID-19 pandemic-related national lockdowns. Prevalence data to determine the number of workers affected in this sector, including children, are lacking. (25) Research has indicated that thousands of children, some as young as age 11, continue to be trapped in the country's entertainment sectors. Children are recruited from rural areas and trafficked to cities by friends, relatives, and neighbors. (26) One study found that 17 percent of workers in the adult entertainment sector are minors, and 62 percent of adult women in that industry started their work as minors, some as young as 7 years old. (25)

Many children in Nepal are engaged in the production of bricks, which exposes them to hazardous working conditions, including carrying heavy loads and using dangerous machinery. (1,6,26) There are an estimated 17,738 child laborers in the brick kilns of Nepal, with 15,400 of these children engaged in hazardous work. (10,27) While most industries remained closed due to the pandemic, bonded labor continued in sectors such as agriculture and domestic work. (2)

In April 2021, schools in Nepal closed again due to the second wave of the pandemic, and again in January 2022 due to the Omicron variant. (2,28-30) As of December 2021, many children had been out of classrooms for almost 18 months. (2) School closures have led to continued disruptions of children's education in the reporting year. (28) While the Government of Nepal implemented learning programs, including new alternative learning methods, the establishment of an online portal, and broadcasting education programs through media channels, a substantial number of children are expected to suffer from learning loss. Moreover, these disruptions have been severe for children from rural areas with no access to alternative learning modalities. (2,28) This situation has increased the risk of children being diverted from education to child labor, especially in rural and high mountain areas, where local resources are inadequate. (2) Children who began working during the first lockdown in March 2020 continued to do so even after returning to school in early 2021. (29) The pandemic has further amplified the economic hardship of people who lack financial resources. Those hardest hit have been daily wage earners, women working in the entertainment sector, brick-kiln workers, and owners of small businesses. (24) The UNICEF COVID-19 Child and Family Tracker has found that 50 percent of households in Nepal have lost a source of income, and many families lack credit or savings to overcome these financial setbacks, putting their children at risk of having to enter the workforce to support their families. (24) Research has indicated that most children were found working in brick kilns, carpet factories, construction, and as vendors. (29)

Carpet factories are considered part of the formal sector, but many of the subcontractors working in the informal sector use child labor further down the supply chain. Although NGOs believe that the number of children involved in producing carpets continued to decrease, research was unable to confirm this claim. (12)

Some children, particularly girls, face barriers to accessing education due to a lack of sanitation facilities, geographic distance, costs associated with schooling, household chores, and a lack of parental support. (12,31) In Nepal, 32.4 percent of schools lack separate toilet facilities for girls, which can deter them from attending school, especially when they are menstruating. (32,33) The government has introduced free sanitary napkins in all schools across the country to encourage girls to attend their classes. (12) Barriers to attending school for school-age boys include pressure to find employment, migration to work outside Nepal, and issues with drugs and alcohol. Children with disabilities face additional barriers to accessing education, including denial of school admission. (12)

The government allows Bhutanese refugee students in grades 9 to 12 to attend local public schools at no cost, but enrollment remains restricted for younger children. The UNHCR provides parallel free education at lower grades to refugees in the two remaining refugee camps in the country. (2,34) Most Tibetan refugees who live in the country, particularly those who arrived after 1990 or turned the age of 16 after 1995, do not have documentation, nor do their descendant children. Even those with an acknowledged refugee status have no legal rights beyond the ability to remain in the country. (2) Nevertheless, the government allowed NGOs to provide primary- and secondary-level schooling to Tibetans living in Nepal. (34) In addition, more than 700 refugees and asylum seekers from Pakistan, Burma, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not recognized as having the status of refugees, but the government allows the UNHCR to provide some education, health, and livelihood services to them. These refugees lack legal access to public education, as well as the right to work. (2,6) Child refugees who cannot legally access public education, and those who are of legal age to work but are not authorized to do so, are more susceptible to being exploited in the worst forms of child labor.

Nepal has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

The government has established laws and regulations related to child labor (Table 4). However, gaps exist in Nepal’s legal framework to adequately protect children from the worst forms of child labor, including lack on prohibitions of using children in illicit activities.

* Country has no conscription (42,44)

In 2021, the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens approved the Online Child Protection Procedure, 2021, per Section 86(1) of the Children's Act. This procedure will help curb the online abuse of children, as Internet access and digital technology in the country have expanded in recent years. (2,39,45)

The minimum age for hazardous work is not consistent with international standards because it does not prohibit children age 17 from engaging in hazardous work. (35) Furthermore, the types of hazardous work prohibited for children do not include brickmaking and stone breaking, sectors in which there is evidence that work involves carrying heavy loads and being exposed to hazardous substances. (6,10,35,46) However, Nepal's National Master Plan on Child Labor (2018–2028) has identified children working in brick kilns as targeted groups vulnerable to hazardous child labor. (47,48)

The law related to child trafficking is insufficient because it does not clearly criminalize recruitment, harboring, receipt, or transportation of children in the absence of force, fraud, or coercion. (38,49) In addition, the law prohibiting the use of children in illicit activities is insufficient because it does not prohibit the use of children in the production of drugs. (50) Nepal ratified the Palermo Protocol in 2020 and the Government of Nepal is in the process of aligning its legal framework for human trafficking with international standards, including broadening its definition of human trafficking and better addressing child trafficking. (14,51)

The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the operations of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws.

Nepal police has a Women and Children Service Directorate, as well as functioning Anti-Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Bureau, the latter of which was established in 2019. (54) Whether the Anti-TIP Bureau will become a multidisciplinary unit and investigate cases against child labor laws or focus exclusively on trafficking crimes still remains unclear. (2)

In 2020, Nepal established its first labor court to address labor-related issues under the 2017 Labor Act, including child labor issues in certain circumstances. (55) While the Supreme Court compiles cases related to the labor court, it does not disaggregate data regarding child labor. (8) Reports suggest that 123 labor-related cases were filed in fiscal year 2020–2021. Research was unable to determine whether those cases were adequately prosecuted or how many of those cases were related to child labor. (8)

Labor Law Enforcement

In 2021, labor law enforcement agencies in Nepal took actions to address child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the operations of the Department of Labor (DOL) that may hinder adequate labor law enforcement, including insufficient human resource allocation.

† Data are for July 2019 to July 2020.
‡ Data are for July 2020 to July 2021.

The new Constitutional provision has marked Nepal's transition to federalism. (14,37) The provincial governments have been given more authority, including the task of overseeing child labor monitoring and inspection and maintaining data and documentation on inspections. (14,37) In 2021, the government began the preliminary work of establishing information centers, including guideline preparation, at each local government under the "Procedure on Establishment and Operation of Information and Records Center" for local levels. (8) Reports indicate that child trafficking recordkeeping did not commence during the reporting period. (8) Due to Nepal's transition to a new federal government, strong provisions for local monitoring bodies are not always formed or functional. (58)

NGOs stated that the fines and employer-paid compensation outlined in the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act were not adequate deterrents to child labor violations. (14,32) The lack of human resources, capacity, and training on labor laws inhibit robust monitoring to ensure full compliance with the labor laws, and limit Nepal’s ability to take meaningful actions against perpetrators of child labor and its worst forms. Cases are often resolved through negotiations, and the DOL encourages mediation over prosecution, resulting in mild punishments for perpetrators. (2,49) In addition, business owners reportedly may pressure labor inspectors to settle disputes outside court. (2) Furthermore, DOL officials and NGOs stated that officials are sometimes paid to not move child labor cases forward, or parents are given nominal compensation to abandon cases. (14)

The government has also confirmed that it calls on NGOs to assist with official inspections and to increase transparency because it lacks funding and resources. (14) Only a small portion of labor inspectors' responsibilities include child labor inspections and inspectors have little experience conducting them. (2) The government and NGOs state that more than 70 percent of child labor occurs in the informal sector, including in companies with fewer than 10 employees and those that are not registered with the government. (6,14,15) However, the government conducted most of its labor inspections in the formal sector and rarely conducted unannounced inspections. (6) Reporting has suggested that government agencies continue to be reactive rather than proactive in enforcing laws and preventing child labor. (2)

The number of labor inspectors is likely insufficient for the size of Nepal's workforce, which includes more than 16.9 million workers. According to the ILO’s technical advice of a ratio approaching 1 inspector for every 15,000 workers in developing economies, Nepal should employ about 1,133 inspectors. (59) Although the total number of labor inspector positions in Nepal is 28, only 16 positions are currently filled. (2,56) The DOL noted that the number of inspectors was still inadequate and limited the government's abilities to deal with child labor issues, particularly at the local levels. (12,14)

Although labor inspectors periodically receive training on child labor laws and inspections, the training does not necessarily adhere to any formal schedule. (60) During the reporting period, inspectors did not receive specific training on laws related to child labor or hazardous child labor. They were provided with annual consultations about different issues related to labor laws, including child labor. (2)

Criminal Law Enforcement

In 2021, criminal law enforcement agencies in Nepal took actions to address child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of the criminal enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate criminal law enforcement, including insufficient allocation of financial resources.

The Nepal Police's Crime Investigation School conducts training for all levels of police personnel in juvenile justice, child rights, and laws relating to child labor issues. (14) However, the government lacks both the human resources and financial capacity to enforce laws prohibiting crimes related to the worst forms of child labor, and it lacks the resources to maintain a centralized database of cases involving the worst forms of child labor, including child trafficking. (6,14,15,61) According to some reporting, only those children in "worst case" scenarios involving physical or sexual abuse were removed from exploitative situations. (2) The Nepal Police do, however, collect and disaggregate data related to human trafficking cases. In fiscal year 2020–2021, there were 134 reported human trafficking cases involving 187 victims. (8,14) Of these, 80 victims were under the age of 18. (8)

The government does not publicly release information on its criminal law enforcement efforts. (14) 

The government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8). However, gaps exist that hinder the effective coordination of efforts to address child labor, including efficacy in accomplishing mandates.

The government has established policies related to child labor (Table 9). However, policy gaps exist that hinder efforts to address child labor, including updating existing policies to better align with the constitutional transition to federalism.

† Policy was approved during the reporting period.
‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor. (14,32)

The Fifteenth National Plan of Nepal (2019/2020–2023/2024) has incorporated ending child labor as one of its objectives. It includes making necessary legal provisions to end all forms of child labor and increasing the target number of inspections for child labor in each Nepali fiscal year, which begins and ends in July each year. (2,14,76)

The Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security (MoLESS), with support from international NGOs, passed the Child Labor Free Declaration Procedures for the Local Governments to identify and declare at least 50 local jurisdictions to be free of child labor for the Nepali 2020–2021 fiscal year. These guidelines incorporated several indicators, including a child labor survey and programs at the local level to eliminate child labor. (2) Through this measure, the government set up an Emergency Fund at the national and local levels to rescue and rehabilitate vulnerable children. (2) Additionally, in 2021, the Nepali government passed a new guideline that sets criteria for municipalities and local governments to maintain a child labor-free workforce for which the government allocated approximately $170,000 (20.7 million rupees). (2)

The Nepal Master Plan-II (NMP-II) has incorporated five strategies to eradicate child labor, including regular search and monitoring, rescue, and rehabilitation. The NMP-II includes some indicators to ensure that inspections are performed properly. (2)

Research has found that there is a need to update the National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Persons so that it better aligns with Nepal's anti-trafficking programming within the new federal structure, as well as to better address forced labor. (21,53)

Nepal is a Pathfinder country under Alliance 8.7, which calls for the eradication of child labor by 2025, and of forced labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking by 2030. (14,77) For the 2021–2022 fiscal year, the Nepali government has allocated around $8,500 (1,000,000 rupees) for various activities that align with Pathfinder goals, which includes aligning federal laws to streamline child labor policies federally. (2,78) 

In 2021, the government funded and participated in programs that include the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including the inadequacy to address the problem in all sectors.

† Program is funded by the Government of Nepal.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (14)

Although Nepal has programs that target child labor, gaps exist in these social programs, including programs that support child victims of commercial sexual exploitation and children working in the production of bricks.

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in Nepal (Table 11).

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