New York - The Maoists should immediately begin releasing the thousands of child soldiers in their ranks and cease recruiting more children, says a new Human Rights Watch report. The 72-page report, Children in the Ranks: The Maoists' Use of Child Soldiers in Nepal documents the failure of the Nepali government to attend to the needs of child soldiers, and describes how the Maoists have continued using child soldiers, and recruited more children recently, despite signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November last year.

The report is based on interviews with former Maoist child soldiers and Nepali and international monitors, and documents how children as young as 14 served on the frontlines, received weapons training, and carried out crucial military and logistical support duties. Observers believe that up to 4,500 Maoist soldiers were under 18 when they were recruited to fight in the 'People's War.'

Meanwhile, the Maoists have consistently maintained that they have not recruited or used child soldiers. "Only when the Maoists, from the top leadership down to cadres on the ground, admit how many children are in their ranks and begin releasing them, can Nepalis be confident that their children will no longer be recruited for combat," says Sam Zarifi, Asia research director at Human Rights Watch. The report says the Maoists have used a variety of techniques for recruiting children-kidnapping individuals, abducting large groups from schools, and mounting propaganda campaigns to attract children as 'volunteers.' In areas of the country under their firm control, the Maoists instituted a 'one family, one child' policy that forced at least one child from each family to join the Maoists.

Until the ceasefire, security forces treated children accused of cooperating with the Maoists with the same brutality that they used against adults suspected of having Maoist ties, says the report. "Release from the Maoists' ranks is only the first step for thousands of children who have missed out on their education or learning how to earn a living," writes Jo Becker, child rights advocate at Human Rights Watch.

Since 2002, the Maoists have been named in three consecutive reports by the UN secretary-general to the Security Council for violating international standards prohibiting the use and recruitment of child soldiers. On 9 February, a UN Security Council working group on children and armed conflict, is scheduled to consider reported violations against children by all parties to Nepal's conflict. The working group will make recommendations for Security Council action.

Children in the Ranks: The Maoists' Use of Child Soldiers in Nepal, is available at: http://hrw.org/reports/2007/nepal0207/