Introduction to the organization

The issue of women and children has ever been the matter of critical attention across the globe in general and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in particular. This weaker section of the society is mostly neglected and their basic rights denied in the name of resource constraints. Such trend is more vulnerable in the LDC and post-conflict country.  Children are the hidden treasure of any society and ray of hope to rekindle the whole humanity. Therefore, the future of the world hinges on the development of children as they are the potential human resource to lead the world.

The United Nations has also laid high emphasis on child rights and development. The United Nations Convention on Child Rights is on the forefront of other conventions endorsed and brought to effect by the United Nations. The Convention is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.The Convention has served as a directive for the protection and preservation of child rights throughout the world. Built on varied legal systems and cultural traditions, the Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations. These basic standards—also called human rights—set minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments. Likewise, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has a mission to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided in doing this by the provisions and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It is the prime obligation of the state party, who signed such UN Convention, to translate the stipulated provisions of the legally binding document, into actions. Hosever, it has not been adequately followed in Nepal, which resulted in the pathetic situation of children.

The current situation is that there are still differences among key stakeholders with regard to their understanding on the issues concerning women and children It may be noted that the authority concerned have not been able to translate the pragmatic aspects of child rights into actions due to sheer ignorance towards the serious aspects of child rights and development. However, some of the organizations working in the sector at national and international level have contributed to the child rights movement in one way or another. In order to contribute to such movement at grassroots level, the Women and Child Development Forum Nepal (WCDFN) was established as an NGO under the Social NGO Act-2034 in 2067 BS on the collective effort of dynamic youth individually involved in this field.