CHILDREN PLAY pivotal role in SL’s socio-cultural life

Statement by Plantation Industries Minister and Special Envoy of the President on Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe at the Third Committee 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on promotion and protection of the rights of children on October 18, 2012

Children have always had an important place in the socio-cultural life of Sri Lanka and the current focus is on building a succeeding generation who are ready to take over the reins of a new Sri Lanka free from the fear of terrorism. To achieve this, we have integrated into our national development plans several programmes that deal with children, their protection and safety, their health and physical welfare as well as their education and personality development.

On the international plane, we are a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the two Optional Protocols to the CRC. We are also a State Party to the two ILO conventions No. 138 and 182 dealing with child labour. We take our international obligations as seriously as we do our domestic responsibilities - especially with regard to the key area of children and the protection of their rights. Foremost among our achievements were the rehabilitation and reintegration of child combatants into society following the successful humanitarian operation against terrorist forces, who held nearly 300,000 persons captive - using them as human shields and attempting to create a humanitarian catastrophe.

The governments operations enabled these persons to seek safety and an eventual return to normality. Among the nearly 12,000 persons who were taken into custody or surrendered after the conclusion of the operation in May 2009, were several child combatants forcibly recruited by the terrorists. With regard to the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants, out of approximately 12,000 persons this Committee will note that as of October 1, 2012, 10,985 persons, which included 594 LTTE child soldiers have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. Not a single child combatant remains in rehabilitative care or legal custody today.

The GoSL adhered to a policy of not subjecting ex-combatant children to legal proceedings based on the rationale that they were victims and not perpetrators. It must be noted that all child soldiers released were afforded the opportunity of a formal education and that they were reunited with their families. We note with pleasure that Sri Lanka has now been delisted by the UN Secretary-General from Annex II of the UN Security Council Resolution 1612, on Children and Armed Conflict.

Social integration

This is a result of the efforts taken by the GOSL to inquire into several cases on child recruitment and comply with the recommendations of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and those of the UNSG’s Special Representative. Moreover, 212 former combatants, who were previously pursuing tertiary education were re-inducted into the university system to follow their undergraduate studies. They will be enabled to seek a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

In accordance with our obligations under UNCRC a policy of zero tolerance for child recruitment was adopted by the government of Sri Lanka throughout the 30 years of conflict and, in addition, all feasible measures were undertaken to care for children affected by the conflict.

Penal sanctions to prohibit child recruitment were enacted accordingly. Government policy included the effective implementation of Article 38 of UNCRC in relation to the rehabilitation of the 'child surrendees'. This included the Gazette notification of December 2008 which included child-friendly procedures in relation to these 'child surrendees'.

Missing children

The policy and practice, took into account the promotion of physical and psychological recovery and social integration of all affected children. The setting up of Protective Accommodation Centres (or PARCs) for children, through which the recovery and reintegration could take place, in a manner that safeguarded the dignity and self-respect of the children, was a cornerstone of our approach. Respect for the child’s viewpoint and a special emphasis on family reintegration were essential components of that strategy.

In the complex situation during and after the last phases of the conflict a number of children among the IDPs were separated from their families. Families displaced from the conflict have been filing tracing requests and reporting missing children to a number of authorities at the District as well as at the national level.

In December 2009, in response to the many tracing requests received, the District Secretary/Government Agent of Vavuniya and the Probation and Child Care Commissioner for the Northern Province jointly established a Family Tracing and Reunification (or 'FTR') unit for unaccompanied and separated children, with UNICEF support.

Sri Lanka is continuously updating its legal and regulatory framework to better respect, safeguard and protect the rights of children. Section 358A of the Penal Code has criminalized the worst forms of child labour in accordance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No.182 including debt bondage and serfdom, forced or compulsory labour, and slavery. Women and Children’s Bureau desks were established island wide at Police Stations to provide protection to women and children who have suffered from acts of violence. In areas where such desks are not in existence, arrangements have been made at each Police Station to assign female officers to cater to the needs of women and child complainants. In 2008, a Bill titled 'The Assistance and Protection to Victims of Crime and Witnesses' was drafted, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, and was presented to Parliament.

Corporal punishment

This Bill was then referred to a Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Justice and Law Reform which recommended amendments. A new Bill has been redrafted incorporating the recommendations made.

The proposed law contains separate and special provisions pertaining to child victims of crime and child witnesses.

In conformity with Article 28(2) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, strict instructions have been issued to schools, via Ministry of Education Circulars in 2001 and 2005, to prohibit the use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary method. Such punishment may also give rise to legal sanction for subjecting children to cruelty under section 308(a) of the Penal Code.

School Child Protection Committees (SCPC) set up under a circular issued by the Ministry of Justice, Village Alert Groups set up by The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and Village Committees set up by Department of Probation and Child Care services are used to focus on issues relating to offences against children.

The NCPA has commenced pilot activities in this connection including training for teachers in counseling on a pilot basis and, thus far, 447 SCPCs have been established and 1,200 teachers have been trained.

To be continued