Rapid Assessment of Child & Young People’s Rights Violations & Urgent Needs During ‘Gen Z’ Led Political Movement in Nepal (2025)

On 8th September 2025, children and young people from Gen Z took to the streets to protest their concerns on corruption and demand greater accountability and transparency from the government. What began as a peaceful demonstration soon turned violent as the state responded with excessive force. The heavy-handed approach of security forces resulted in the deaths of 51 people, including 3 children (2 boys and 1 girl), and left many others injured, as of 13 September 2025. The tragic loss of lives gave the movement greater momentum, drawing in wider sections of society who joined the protests to demand the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Protesters also called for the dismantling of entrenched corrupt systems and the ushering in of a new wave of leadership, staying true to the aspirations of “Gen Z.”

The Gen Z–led movement in Nepal has resulted in grave and widespread violations of children’s rights, exposing critical weaknesses in the country’s child protection systems during political unrest. According to media reports, and on-ground accounts, the children and youths were shot on the head, chest, and abdomen. There have also been reports of children being detained, tortured, and harmed by tear gas shelling. These actions represent clear breaches of Nepal’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Convention Against Torture (CAT), national legislation, and the United Nations (UN) Basic Principles on the Use of Force.

The rapid assessment highlights multiple urgent needs of affected children and families across medical, psychosocial, safety, legal, and educational domains. It also highlights the trust deficit between state mechanism/Police and children/youth, and the need to ensure a peacebuilding and conflict transformation lens to address the post-conflict situation and ensure that such violations do not happen again. Trauma, fear, and anxiety are widespread among children, compounded by disrupted schooling, arbitrary arrests, limited functioning of the justice system actors including police and protection structures, and the secondary risks of violence following the escape of 12,496 prisoners during the unrest. Families who lost breadwinners are struggling economically and some are demanding recognition of the deceased as martyrs with appropriate compensation.

Testimonies from children reveal profound trauma, fear of future violence, feelings of hopelessness, and disappointment with institutions. Despite this, they also highlight the resilience of young people and their determination to participate in shaping Nepal’s democratic future.

Response efforts remain fragmented and insufficient. Hospitals were overwhelmed, psychosocial services are scarce and uncoordinated, education continuity has been ignored, and accountability for state security forces is absent. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has formed a committee to investigate child and youth deaths and injuries, but the process has not yet begun. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and international actors have attempted to fill gaps but lack coordinated frameworks and resources.

The assessment concludes that urgent and coordinated action is needed. The government must guarantee no further use of excessive force against children and youth, ensure transparent investigations, and guarantee medical, psychosocial, and legal support. National institutions like NHRC and NCRC must lead in monitoring and accountability, while CSOs and international partners should strengthen child-centered services, advocacy, resource mobilization, creating safe spaces for child/youth dialogue, and also supporting youth with mediation/negotiation skills. Without decisive measures, Nepal risks deepening intergenerational trauma, undermining public trust, and alienating its youth—a generation critical to the nation’s social and democratic future.