CPS to improve security and welfare of children

Sarath MALALASEKERA

Child Protection is a Universal need. The vulnerability of the young had existed in every society throughout the human history. The standards of care in theory are universal in application and developed mostly by the United Nations and its specialised agency United Nations International Children and Education Fund (UNICEF), said The Child Protection Society CPS President S. S. Wijeratne addressing the 80th Annual General meeting of the society held at the BMICH recently.

Wijaya Publication Chairman Ranjith Wijewardena was the Chief Guest at the AGM.

Wijeratne said that the United Nations Child Rights Convention was adopted in 1989 and was ratified by Sri Lanka in 1991. Sri Lanka also in recent times has enacted important legislations focused on Child Protection and Welfare. 1995 Amendment to the Penal Code , National Child Probation Authority Act No. 59 of 1998. Domestic Violence Act No. 34 of 2005 and Tsunami (Special Provisions) Act No. 6 of 2005, the Tobacco and Alcohol Act No. 27 of 2006 and ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007.

The Society President emphasised that these legislations are intended to protect children from sexual abuse, child trafficking and prostitution, violence at home, loss of parents in the tsunami, preventing minor abuse of Tobacco and Alcohol. These legislations have helped to curb the unsavoury social trends adversely affecting the children in the country. The Child Protection Society (CPS) is committed to support more effective implementation of the laws protecting children.

The Child rights activists however face new challenges politically economically. Among the new challenges adversely affect children in Sri Lanka is the child conscription by armed groups in the North eastern region of the country.

Child conscription still continues as a serious violation of rights of the children. The tragic situation in Sri Lanka had been the subject of international reports and comments, Wijeratne added.

Allegations of child conscription are levelled only against the militant groups and the State is not in a position to rectify the anomaly. International condemnation of the practice should continue and State should take steps to rehabilitate child conscripts whenever the children escaped from the clutches of the militant groups, he said.

Wijeratne said: "The Executive Committee of the CPS unanimously decided to invite Ranjith Wijewardena as the Chief Guest to the 80th Anniversary of Child Protection Society as a singular honour to late Chandra de Silva who was a close friend of yours.

Late Chandra de Silva, Senior Vice President of the CPS in his quest to bring humanitarian care and protection to the children of our two Homes sought your unfailing assistance to harness necessary publicity for this unique charitable cause".

The second impending threat to moral security of the children is the exposure to pornography and foreign pedophiles in the internet and prolification of the trade in pornographic videos.

Modern information technology necessitates students to have access to internet learning but technical measures should be taken to filter the web sites. Under the Penal Code, exposure to pornography is a criminal offence but so far unlike in many other countries, internet service providers have failed to develop filtering systems preventing children's access to pornographic sites, he said. The CPS President said that a third threat to child security in Sri Lanka is the continuing saga of internal displacement due to the ongoing conflict.

Internally Displaced Children (IDC) constitute some thirty per cent of the internally displaced population and are vulnerable twice over. The CPS President addressing the distinguished gathering and the boys and the girls of the two homes said that Child Protection Society of Ceylon has travelled an 80 years long journey being the oldest child protection programme in this country.

The Society while providing protection and assistance to destitute children referred to its homes by authorities, had strived to develop standards to improve the security and welfare of the Children in institutional care in the whole country.

We are resolved to continue this work in the future, the CPS President concluded.