20,000 child domestics in Lanka

Vindhya Hewavitharana

COLOMBO: Around 20,000 children work as domestic servants in Sri Lanka, according to latest surveys. If there is any information on the employment of children under 14 as domestics, callers can inform the Children and Women's Bureau of the Police on 011-2444444. Calls will be treated confidentially.

The Children and Women's Bureau of the police are conducting investigations into child labour. According to the sources, action is being taken towards prohibiting such illegal acts. The Bureau stresses that every child has a right to be educated, to live under parents' protection, to live with care and to be kindly treated.

"As children are future leaders, they must be treated well. Every child is equal and they have the right to be dependants on someone. Sri Lanka is a Buddhist influenced country. So our country has to be an example to the other countries in the World. Protecting children cannot be left to the Bureau alone - the entire skeet is responsible," a Bureau official said.