† 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.

Children at Higher Risk

Children living on the streets are highly vulnerable to human trafficking, including sex trafficking. Moreover, children in Nepal's unregistered shelters are exploited in forced begging. These children are also trafficked into exploitative or fraudulent orphanages where they are used to solicit money from foreign donors. The majority of children working in seasonal brick kilns in Nepal are from migrant families from India. Children from the Dalit and Madhesi communities are also highly vulnerable to human trafficking because of poverty, as well as political and economic exclusion. Climate-related disasters, such as flooding and landslides, have increased Nepali children's vulnerability to child labor in sectors such as brick kilns, domestic service, and carpet manufacturing.

Barriers to Education Access

Children, particularly girls, face barriers to accessing education due to a shortage of sanitation facilities, geographic distance, costs associated with schooling, household chores, and an absence of parental support. In Nepal, a lack of separate toilet facilities for girls deters them from attending school, especially when they are menstruating. Children with disabilities face additional barriers to accessing education, including denial of school admission. Refugee children in Nepal face obstacles in enrolling in school because of lack of access to official documentation required by the Nepali government. The government, however, allows NGOs to provide primary- and secondary-level schooling to refugee children without documentation.

* Country has no conscription

The minimum age for hazardous work is not consistent with international standards, because it does not prohibit children aged 17 from engaging in hazardous work. 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. However, Nepal's National Master Plan on Child Labor (2018–2028) has identified children working in brick kilns as a group particularly vulnerable to hazardous child labor. In addition, the law related to child trafficking is insufficient because it does not clearly criminalize the recruitment, harboring, receipt, or transportation of children in the absence of force, fraud, or coercion. 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. Furthermore, although the Constitution prohibits the recruitment of children by non-state armed groups, there is no specific legislation penalizing this practice.

In 2023, 11 labor inspectors conducted 2,467 worksite inspections, finding an unknown number of child labor violations. While the police registered 75 cases of child trafficking, it is unknown whether investigations into suspected cases of the worst forms of child labor were conducted, prosecutions were initiated, or perpetrators were convicted.

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

For information about USDOL’s projects to address child labor around the world, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-project-page-search
† 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.

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