The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict has welcomed the beginning of the discharge of nearly 3,000 young people from the Maoist cantonments in Nepal.<br/><br/>In a statement, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy said the minors who have spent the last three years in Maoist army cantonments with their lives on hold will finally be able to take the next step towards a more positive future.<br/><br/>The group discharged on Thursday from Dudhauli cantonment in Sindhuli district is the first of over 4,000 people set to be released over the next 40 days. Nearly 3,000 of those disqualified were minors at the time of the ceasefire. The discharge is part of an Action Plan signed last month by the UN, the Nepalese Government and Unified CPN (Maoist).