Kathmandu, Sept 14: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said that investing in children is actually for the happy future of the nation. In a message of best wishes on the occasion of National Children’s Day, 2026 today, Prime Minister Shah extended heartfelt wishes for happiness, prosperity, good health, success, a child-friendly environment, and a bright future to all Nepali children living in the country and abroad.
“I sincerely respect all parents, teachers, people’s representatives, civil servants, civil society, development partners, media, and all stakeholders who are continuously active in respecting, protecting, and promoting children’s rights on this occasion,” he stated in the message of best wishes.
This year, the day is being celebrated with the national slogan – ‘Protecting Childhood: Securing the Future.’ Prime Minister Shah mentioned that this year’s slogan emphasizes the inherent truth that a nation’s prosperous future can only be built by ensuring children are safe and have their rights upheld in the present.
Nepal has endorsed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, as a signatory country, showing its international commitment to principles based on non-discrimination, the best interest, the right to life, survival and development, and the right to express opinions.
The Prime Minister has said that those values are strongly guaranteed as fundamental and legal rights through Article 39 (Rights of Children) of the Constitution of Nepal, the National Child Policy, 2023, and the Child-related Act, 2018.
“Our main priority now is to make every child truly feel these constitutional and legal rights in their daily life. For this, effective coordination, cooperation, and accountability are needed between the federal, provincial, and local levels,” the Prime Minister said in the message.
Similarly, the Prime Minister’s message of best wishes states that the federal government should strengthen national policies, legal and institutional foundations; the provincial government should coordinate and expand services; and the local government, as the closest government to children, should work on identifying risks, providing protection and services, and creating a child-friendly environment, so that efforts at all three levels are directed toward the same outcome.
