COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD REVIEWS REPORTS OF SRI LANKA UNDER CONVENTION AND OPTIONAL PROTOCOL ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its review of the combined third and fourth periodic report of Sri Lanka under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its initial report on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Hiranthi Wijemanne, Consultant to the Ministry of Justice, presenting the report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, said Sri Lanka could be satisfied that even during the conflict policies and programmes continued to uphold the best interests of children in their survival, growth, development and protection. These policies had resulted in a steady decline in under-five mortality and had contributed to near universal school enrolment without gender discrimination. Provision of free health care and education continued even in conflict affected areas, Ms. Wijemanne said, adding that initiatives had been introduced to protect children from abuse and exploitation, including the worst forms of child labour. Seventy to 80 per cent of the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam movement’s fighting force had been forcibly recruited as children. Having followed a process of rehabilitation, all child combatants had now been reunited with their families and resumed normal lives, and the Government had no reports of forced recruitments since May 2009. Having emerged from a protracted armed conflict, Sri Lanka’s priorities had now shifted to providing uniform and equitable services to all children throughout the country.

In preliminary concluding remarks, Committee Expert Agnes Akosua Aidoo, who served as Rapporteur for the report under the Convention, said results had been achieved in terms of legislative reform, but the laws passed must be enforced to affect children’s lives. The question of resources also remained an issue as actions had not always gone forward due to budgetary constraints.

Providing additional preliminary observations, Committee Expert Yanghee Lee, serving as Rapporteur for the report under the Optional Protocol, urged Sri Lanka to promptly prosecute perpetrators of child recruitment, lift restrictions on the activities of humanitarian organizations, and investigate the whereabouts of detained children, among other things. Ms. Lee insisted that children accused of crimes be treated in accordance with Convention on the Rights of the Child and urged Sri Lanka to continue cooperating with United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the Secretary-General’s panel on accountability in Sri Lanka.

Concerning the report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Experts asked what the Convention’s status was in Sri Lankan legislation; what the status, responsibilities, and resources of the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs were; and why the National Human Rights Commission had been downgraded from A to B status in 2007. The Committee also expressed concern about persistent discrimination against children and said the impact of migrating women who left behind children needed to be fully studied.

Regarding the Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict, the Committee asked whether the Bill on Assistance and Protection of Victims of Crime really provided enough safeguards for victim protection; how data was being collected; what safeguards were in place to prevent systematic children's rights violations in centres that housed children; whether and how child victims could lodge complaints; and whether Sri Lanka had a law against terrorism and, if so, whether persons under 18 could be charged under that law.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Sri Lanka towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on Friday, 1 October.

The delegation of Sri Lanka included representatives of the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs, the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms, the National Child Protection Authority, the Department of Probation and Child Care, the Commissioner-General of Rehabilitation, the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney-General’s Department, and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, Sri Lanka is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of the treaty. The delegation was on hand yesterday and today to present the reports and answer questions raised by the Committee.


The Committee reconvenes in public at 5.30 p.m. on Friday, 1 October, to officially close its fifty-fifth session.


Reports of Sri Lanka

The combined third and fourth periodic report of Sri Lanka under the Convention (CRC/C/LKA/3-4) notes that the country’s current political and security climate is very different than what it was at the time when the previous report was submitted. One of the most important changes is the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement signed between the Government and the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam movement. That agreement led to the establishment of a Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and a Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process. Before the Ceasefire Agreement was abrogated by the current Government, reports by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission exposed more than 6,500 violations of the Ceasefire Agreement, compared with a few hundred by the Sri Lanka Security Forces. Hostilities under the agreement increased, mainly due to excessive violations of the Ceasefire Agreement by the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam and because of the lack of an effective mechanism for credible and proper enforcement. Another reason was the reluctance of the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam movement to decommission weapons, which is a pre-condition for successful peace implementation. Subsequent attempts for peace negotiations with the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam movement, undertaken during 2007, had not been effective.

The initial report of Sri Lanka on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/LKA/1) underlines that the Government has consistently maintained a zero tolerance approach towards child recruitment, abduction, and the use of children in armed conflict. The Government unequivocally condemns the recruitment of children for armed conflict and regards it as the most serious human rights violation directly attributable to armed conflict. It recognizes that the majority of children thus recruited not only suffer untold abuse and hardship, but run the risk of being maimed, disabled and killed. In 1992, Sri Lanka adopted a Children’s Charter that included the establishment of a National Child Rights Monitoring Committee and Sri Lanka is committed to upholding the rights of children exposed to armed conflict. Sri Lankan armed forces have consistently maintained 18 years as the legally established minimum age of recruitment, but the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam movement have recruited children since the conflict began in 1983. Advocacy against child recruitment has consistently been maintained, but had not had the desired impact. Child recruitment practices by the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam movement still continue.

Discussion on the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Presentation of Report

HIRANTHI WIJEMANNE, Consultant to the Ministry of Justice, said Sri Lanka could be satisfied that even during the conflict policies and programmes continued to uphold the best interests of children in their survival, growth, development and protection. These policies had resulted in a steady decline in under-five mortality and had contributed to near universal school enrolment without gender discrimination. Provision of free health care and education continued even in conflict affected areas, Ms. Wijemanne said, adding that initiatives had been introduced to protect children from abuse and exploitation, including the worst forms of child labour.

Ms. Wijemanne went on to say that 70 to 80 per cent of the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam movement’s fighting force had been forcibly recruited as children. Having followed a process of rehabilitation, all child combatants had now been reunited with their families and resumed normal lives, and the Government had no reports of forced recruitments since May 2009.

Sri Lanka had actively engaged with the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict which had welcomed the Government’s zero tolerance policy regarding the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. The Working Group had also welcomed the assurance that children who had been formally associated with armed groups would be considered victims and would not be prosecuted.

Having emerged from a protracted armed conflict, Sri Lanka’s priorities had now shifted to providing uniform and equitable services to all children throughout the country. Sri Lanka was conscious of the importance of ensuring universality and identifying issues of exclusion and injustice. It was also committed to further reducing under-nutrition and providing more life skills to adolescents. Special children’s courts were being established and the juvenile justice system was being improved. Protection from abuse and exploitation had also been a high priority area, Ms. Wijemanne said.

The Government was aware that child protection issues were not only created by the shortcomings of state institutions, but also occurred due to poverty and ignorance. Therefore, the plight of children from single parent families was being addressed and early childhood development would be strengthened and expanded to reach out to rural areas. Reversion to normalcy in conflict affected areas had also been given importance as that was essential for empowering children and young people in those areas so as to achieve reconciliation and peace.

Ms. Wijemanne said Sri Lanka was aware of the need for greater accountability in relation to norms and standards enshrined in the Convention and its Optional Protocols and continued working on this. However, the relationship between treaty law and customary law was complicated given the diversity of cultural and religious practices that had existed for generations. Nevertheless, the advocacy for change in the best interest of children continued.

The Government remained conscious of the need to continue interacting with United Nations agencies and other stakeholders in order to continue upholding children's rights. Sri Lanka welcomed the role of civil society and non-governmental organizations who worked in a transparent manner. The relationship between the State, civil society organizations and communities must be mutually reinforcing in the best interest of the child, Ms. Wijemanne stressed.

Child rights required progressive interpretation through judgments and case law, which must be imbued with international norms and the cultural values of respective countries. Sri Lanka appreciated and solicited cooperation with the international community, Ms. Wijemanne said, adding that the collective aim should not only be to improve the condition of today’s children, but also of that of the future generation who could grow up with dignity and in a peaceful Sri Lanka.

Questions by Experts

AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report under the Convention, said Sri Lanka had had a historic position in South Asia, the Commonwealth and the international community for decades, being a leader in the promotion of social and human development. Sri Lanka had made remarkable achievements in high and widespread educational standards, health, and social services. These achievements had by and large been sustained through a policy of fully subsidized health and education for all citizens and social welfare assistance to households, with significant benefit to children. Sri Lanka was considered an early achiever, was on track to reach the Millennium Development Goals, and had undertaken significant legislative reforms to enhance children's rights.

However, the country had not been free from challenges threatening or undermining the progressive fulfilment of all children's rights under the Convention. The two most critical challenges had been the long civil war in the North and East of Sri Lanka which lasted nearly 26 years before coming to an end in May 2009, and the catastrophic 2004 Tsunami.

The combined impact of the conflict and the unprecedented natural disaster had a dramatic effect on children. For example, the conflict for example had had a direct impact on the right to life, survival and development, with the killing and maiming of hundreds of thousands of children, and reportedly left an estimated 600,000 children still missing, while hundreds were displaced from their homes.

Turning to the migration programme for foreign employment, the Rapporteur said there had been 1,020,155 overseas women contract workers in 2007 according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of foreign employment. Most of these women had left behind children, half of whom were under 6 years old, Ms. Aidoo noted with concern. The immediate and long-term impact of this migration on the rights and well-being of children needed to be fully studied to find effective strategies, the Rapporteur added. Sri Lanka’s report, for example, indicated reports of poor school attendance, child abuse and inadequate access to social services for a majority of families in poor and remote parts of the country with high levels of migration.

The report also indicated a participatory approach to its preparation. Could the delegation thus comment on the nature and extent of the involvement of civil society organizations in the reporting process and whether there had been any input from children?

In terms of legislation, Ms. Aidoo wondered what the status of the Convention was in Sri Lankan legislation, whether it could be applied directly, and whether it had been cited by judges. Also, what happened if a child or a group of children complained that their rights had been violated under the Convention?

Could the delegation further inform the Committee about the status in the governmental structure of the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs? The Rapporteur also wondered what the capacity of the ministry was in terms of human, technical and budgetary resources, so as to coordinate actions for children's rights at the national, provincial and district levels, given that education, health and protection of children were devolved to the provinces. And what priority did child rights and children’s issues have on the Government agenda?

The Rapporteur asked the delegation to comment on the downgrading of the accreditation of the National Human Rights Commission from A to B status in March 2007 by the International Coordination Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. Ms. Aidoo asked whether children from different parts of the country, including from conflict affected areas, had access to the commission, and whether consideration had been given to establishing a children’s unit in the commission to enhance children’s access. Also, how did Sri Lanka intend to keep the National Human Rights Commission effective although its resources had not been increased over the past 10 years?

The Rapporteur expressed concern about persistent discrimination against children, especially on grounds of ethnicity, caste, gender, disability and geographical location in the country. How was the State monitoring discrimination against children? What strategies had it employed to tackle discrimination and ensure equal rights for all children?

Other Experts then asked whether human rights education existed in the Sri Lankan system; whether the best interest of children was taken into account in policies and programmes; whether the competencies of the various bodies working on human rights could be clarified; whether codes of conduct were being enforced to avoid stigmatizing of children in the media; what role the State played in protecting children’s right to belief; whether the Witness and Victim Protection Bill had been enacted; and whether the delegation could update the Committee on the reform of the Muslim Law.

Committee Members also wished to know whether the National Human Rights Commission was fully aligned with the Paris Principles; how the Convention had been disseminated; what measures had been taken to protect institutionalized children from abuse, torture and other forms of violence; how the report had been developed and whether there had been a public debate on it; and whether the Committee’s previous recommendations on orphans had been followed-up, among other things.

An Expert noted that much of the data the Committee possessed on Sri Lanka was quite old, making it difficult to discuss the concrete situation. Was newer data available, the Committee Member wondered?

Another Expert noted that there were still many unexploded landmines in Sri Lanka. What efforts had been made in terms of de-mining and mine education so that children, particularly those in the northern areas of the country, were safe?

It had been said in Sri Lanka that corporal punishment should not be used in schools, but this was still lawful. What legal and other measures had the Government taken to ensure non-violent and healthy education, which was much more effective.

Response by Delegation

Responding to those questions and others, the delegation expressed uncertainty about the 600,000 children killed by the Tsunami and conflict. Clarifying, the Committee said that figure referred to missing children, not deaths. That information was not confirmed by Sri Lankan databases, the delegation responded.

Sri Lanka had been very concerned about large numbers of young migrating women. The Government had tried to bring in a policy to prevent women with under-five children from migrating. That policy had not been implemented, due to resistance from civil society organizations pointing to the rights of these women, but the national child protection authority was still looking into this issue.

Turning to disparities, the delegation said it was important to recognize that, although child services had been ongoing, in some areas monitoring had not been done due to conflict. Asked when monitoring in conflict-affected areas in the northern east could start again, the delegation said access had only been possible since July 2009, but Government would undertake this as soon as possible.

The delegation said the report had been shared with non-governmental organizations working on children’s issues, but there was insufficient time to discuss it with a wide circle of children.

As to why Sri Lanka did not have a comprehensive law covering all articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the delegation explained that rights considered fundamental were enshrined in the constitution itself. These rights were common to both adults and children, including freedom of information, to equality and expression. The constitution also stated that, even past the equality barrier, special laws could be given to children. Sri Lanka therefore felt that the constitution as the supreme law was the highest priority to place such rights. Many alleged child rights violations had reached the Supreme Court which had given redress after due process. In addition to the Supreme Court, numerous institutions were dealing with children’s rights, including the ombudsman and the National Human Rights Commission.

Explaining the downgrade in the status the National Human Rights Commission, the delegation said one of the main reasons for that had been a constitutional problem regarding the appointment of commissioners, which had to be channelled through a constitutional council. To keep the institution going, the residual power had to be involved in making appointments. This fell short of the Paris Principles and was thus one of the reasons for downgrading the Commission’s status from A to B.

The delegation said the comments on the increase in age of criminal responsibility from 8 to 10 years could be taken back to Sri Lanka and taken on board given the provisions of the Convention. An Expert said the Committee thought 10 was better, but still too low. The age of 12 could pass.

Corporal punishment in schools and alternative care settings had been declared a prohibited act and made a punishable offence under domestic law.

The best interest of the child pervaded Sri Lankan legislation, the delegation went on to say. The Children’s Charter, the Domestic Violence Act, and the Tsunami Act notably embodied that principle. By mentioning the best interests of the child, judges were also giving effect to the Convention.

Three committees had been established by the Ministry of Justice to look into amending the Muslim Law. Personal laws could not be changed easily as they had existed for many years and now had an immutable status, but judges were trying to align the Muslim Law with the Convention to have some kind of harmonization. An Expert appreciated that it was difficult to change laws that had existed over centuries, but underscored that it was the State’s obligation to impose this through dialogue.

As to the definition of a child, much of Sri Lanka’s legislation had been harmonized with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This included the Domestic Violence Act and the ICCPR Act which both defined the child as a person below the age of 18.

On Media Codes of Conduct, work had been undertaken with a variety of relevant stakeholders in order to ensure protecting the identity of child victims, especially victims of armed conflict and child abuse, for example, by not showing their faces.

The delegation said the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs was a cabinet portfolio. However, children's rights issues were not confined to that ministry. In fact, many coordinating bodies had been set up at the provincial level. At the national level, the ministry was trying to ensure that all organs were effective and cooperating. Nevertheless, coordination must be further strengthened, inter alia through setting aside greater resources and increasingly working with civil society organizations, the delegation acknowledged.

Experts said in many countries the body coordinating the activities under the Convention was also involved in direct care programmes for children and thus did not have much time for coordination work. Did the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs really manage to carry out all of its functions? Also, how was resource allocation dealt with, given that only 2 per cent of the social welfare budget went to children?

The delegation responded that the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs did not work alone on children's rights. It was the focal point, but many other bodies were also working on this in a multi-sectoral manner, including the Child Protection Authority, which was a special monitoring body enacted by Parliament in 1998.

The delegation further reassured the Committee that the budget of the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs had not been reduced over the years. While there was certainly room for improvement, the ministry still received large amounts of money. Contributions from the treasury were limited, but support was also received from United Nations agencies. Also, the second national plan of action had made allocations for children's rights that would be channelled through the ministry.

Experts underlined that if resource allocations were limited, although the ministry was the coordinating body responsible for advocating for children, monitoring implementation, and harmonizing actions, then the priority given to it was not as high as the Committee would like it to be. An Expert encouraged the delegation to advocate for larger resources, given that human rights began with children’s rights. Also, could a rough estimate be given of how much of the Government budget was allocated to the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs?

Responding, the delegation said when speaking of budget it should not be forgotten that Sri Lanka was a developing country. It also stressed that all ministries were responsible for ensuring that children enjoyed their rights, including the Ministries of Health and Education, which both received large shares of the State budget. Further information on this would be provided.

Questions by Experts

AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report under the Convention, in a second round of questions and comments, said the living standard of many communities seemed to be declining and affected by poverty. In general, poverty levels had dropped, but pockets of poverty persisted. In spite of this, the budget of the poverty reduction programme seemed to have been reduced. Was that the case, and if so, for what reasons, Ms. Aidoo asked.

The Rapporteur also wished to know how Sri Lanka ensured that children in the State sector enjoyed their rights and whether affirmative programmes were available to ensure their equitable access to development resources.

Did Sri Lanka have information about the extent of early and enforced marriages, Ms. Aidoo, asked? If that were an issue, what had the Government done to tackle this?

The Rapporteur also asked when the Committee could expect receiving the report of Sri Lanka on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which had been due in October 2008, and why Sri Lanka had not ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

Other Experts asked the delegation to comment on the high number of children not enrolled in school; whether primary health care had been prioritized, especially for disadvantaged children; and what had been done to improve mental health services, particularly in view of the expected high numbers of people suffering from post-traumatic stress following the tsunami and armed conflict.

A Committee Member also asked the delegation to comment on high numbers of suicides and measures to tackle these, on the domestic violence act that failed to address emotional abuse, and on the re-victimization of sexually abused children. Experts also wished to know, among other things, what policies had been taken regarding institutionalized, disabled children, whether more information could be provided on orphanage licenses, and what vocational programmes had been conducted.

Response by Delegation

Answering these questions and others, the delegation said most emergency measures had been scaled down since the end of the conflict and the remainder would be taken away once the situation had further improved. The remaining measures could only be prolonged from month to month and with the approval of the Sri Lankan Parliament.

The delegation said the number of internally displaced persons had dropped to 25,000 and thus problems of large numbers of internally displaced persons no longer existed. However, de-mining activities were ongoing and it was the State’s responsibility to ensure that the people were safe. Some military presence was therefore essential to protect those people and a complete withdrawal of the military was currently impossible.

Regarding the Committee’s statistics, according to which there were 600,000 missing persons in Sri Lanka, the delegation said there was not such a total of missing persons for the whole of Sri Lanka’s history and sources and verification procedures for these statistics should be provided.

The delegation went on to say that marriages under the age of 18 were prohibited and null and void under Sri Lankan legislation, even after 10 years. A special unit of the Child Protection Authority took care of such situations and prosecuted perpetrators, as had been done just last week.

Following-up on this, a Committee Member asked what happened if the persons in question were Muslims. There was no age of marriage as far as Muslims were concerned, the delegation responded, pointing to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act. These marriages were valid even if the parties were under the age of 18. Muslims were not susceptible to change this practice, the delegation said, but pointed to the ongoing revision of the Muslim Law and to the fact that parental consent must be obtained. The Supreme Court judge was aware of the inconsistency of this practice with the Convention and this was being looked into.

On data collection, the delegation said due to the conflict the last census dated back to 1991. However, the next census was planned for 2011 and would yield more accurate information than had been available for the last 30 years as several hitherto inaccessible areas could now also be studied.

The delegation said child sex tourism was being monitored, not least with the help of villagers, and many cases had been filed against foreigners who came to Sri Lanka for this purpose. The situation was not very bad, but immediate action was taken whenever a case became known. The 1995 penal code amendment criminalized all forms of sexual exploitation, the delegation said, adding that child abuse had been defined and some United Nations standards had been brought in.

The Rapporteur appreciated the amendments to the existing law, especially to the penal code, but was concerned that the beneficiaries of such laws might not even be aware of them. What had been done to make boys and girls aware of these provisions; what data had been collected on the numbers of concerned children, especially boys, because reportedly in Sri Lanka more boys than girls were drawn into child sex tourism; and what measures had been taken to identify and punish perpetrators?

The delegation explained that awareness-raising programmes had been implemented, targeting all sectors, relevant groups of professionals, and beneficiaries, including doctors, judges, and children. The media had also contributed to sensitization activities and children had free access to a child helpline.

As for the Committee’s information according to which 80 per cent of disabled children were not enrolled in school, the delegation wished to know what the source of that number was. The delegation asserted that disabled children could participate both in regular classes or go to special education schools. The census would specifically gather data on children with disabilities.

Asked how many schools were being occupied by the Sri Lankan army for use with internally displaced persons, the delegation said there was only one such case. However, that had no way corrupted the life of school children in that area and two additional schools for catch-up education were being run.

The delegation explained that the backlog in dealing with cases of child abuse were due to the great number of cases since awareness was now much greater than it had been. However, the Attorney General’s Department had a unit specifically dealing with such cases to expedite them. There was still a delay in dealing with such cases, but steps had been taken to minimize delays. While authorities were aware that child abuse cases should be prioritized, they were also conscious that inappropriate expedition might undermine comprehensive investigations.

Turning to education, an Expert said the idea of religious education was that children learned about all the different cultures and religions so that they learned tolerance and acceptance, therefore tying in with questions of how to reduce discrimination. The delegation responded that religion was taught in school up to a certain level, but after that point each religion was taught as a specific subject, making it difficult to know all four religions. However, there were many cultural events and interactions that served that purpose, particularly since the end of the conflict, and all ethnic communities and religious beliefs were represented in the media.

Sri Lanka had given priority to community-based care systems and thus only counted 20,000 institutionalized children. Minimum standards for children’s homes had been developed, a case-management policy had been drawn up, and care-givers had been trained on emotional and psychological aspects, the delegation said.

These answers were encouraging, a Committee Member responded, but were there any clear regulations for orphanages? Many children were not orphans but still seemed to live in orphanages. In fact, reportedly 80 per cent of all children living in institutions had at least one parent, which ran counter to the spirit of the Convention. The delegation confirmed that almost 80 per cent of the 14,000 children in volunteer children’s homes had at least one parent.

Experts pointed out that legislation on adoption and the best interest of the child was insufficiently protected as families wishing to adopt looked for a child and not the reverse. It should be the interest of the child which was at the centre, the Expert said, and this shift should occur in Sri Lankan legislation.

Committee Members asked whether Sri Lanka had any programmes to help a parent at home rather than separating him or her from the child; whether there were any controls to regularly assess whether a child still needed to be institutionalized; and whether Sri Lanka had any mechanisms for institutionalized children to lodge complaints. Also, were homes rigorously monitored, knowing that institutionalization was dangerous for children, and was there a functioning authority dealing with inter-country adoption and, if so, did it work in conformity with the Hague Convention.

Responding to some of these questions, the delegation said Sri Lanka had recently done a very comprehensive monitoring scheme to assess whether children had been victims of abuses and all children, including institutionalized children, could report abuses through the 1929 helpline. As for the authority for inter-country adoption, priority was given to locals, with about 1,000 cases, and the 40 or 50 international adoptions per year were mainly to European Union countries.

The delegation explained that a presidential task force had been established to work on issues of mental health and suicides. In addition, the Government had set up mental health care services attached to hospitals, community-based services were available, and public health workers had been trained on basic mental health care. The numbers had thus come down to a large extent, but the problem was not eliminated. Sri Lanka was still a poor developing country with very few psychologists.

Returning to the topic of budget, the delegation said several ministries received money for children's issues; the budget of the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs therefore did not reflect all financial allocations to child issues. The delegation could provide information on the children’s components embedded in the various ministries at a later stage.

Questions by Experts

In another round of questions a Committee Member said it was the Committee’s understanding that Sri Lanka did not have a system of juvenile justice. There were certainly judges dealing with children’s affairs, but the country did not seem to have courts specialized in this field. It also seemed that communication in issues of juvenile justice was complicated by language issues. Could the delegation comment on this? Another Expert noted that reportedly children had been treated very severely and said it was necessary to respect the provisions of the Convention.

A Committee Member also asked what the situation was on the ground regarding child labour, pointing out that reportedly hundreds of thousands of children still worked in plantations and many school drop-outs were vulnerable to domestic work. What had been done to monitor and treat such cases?

Experts further wished to know about any follow-up on the Sri Lankan peacekeepers who had been involved in sexual exploitation and abuse in Haiti, as mentioned in Sri Lanka’s written replies, and whether education on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict had been conducted.

Response by Delegation

Responding to those questions and others, the delegation said the accused peacekeepers had been recalled from Haiti. However, some alleged victims had not been made available for interrogation, making it difficult to prosecute alleged offenders, but those accused had finally been held accountable under military law in all cases where there was credible evidence.

The delegation said the number of cases of juveniles under 12 was very low and close to zero for serious crimes. Therefore, not much attention had been placed on this issue, but the Attorney General had discretion in such cases and could avoid prosecution if the gravity of the offence and the age of the perpetrator so suggested.

As to child perpetrators between the age of 16 and 18, the delegation said that age group was recognized as a special category and they were not dealt with as adults. For example, courts were given discretion to hand down appropriate sanctions for such perpetrators regarding statutory rape, and safety mechanisms were in place. The legacy of Sri Lankan legislation was still alive, but the law commission had gone into this to overhaul legislation as it related to 16 to 18 adolescents. Also, that legislation was only the basic legislation that had set up the juvenile justice system. Much legislation had followed that, including the recent amendments of the penal code. A court in Colombo had been administering juvenile justice and, as a signatory to the Convention, Sri Lanka had a great sensitivity to building up such courts. Several such courts would be built in the future.

It was far from being true that judges were unable to speak Tamil. As a matter of fact, three out of 9 judges of the Supreme Court were fluent in Tamil and proceedings had been conducted in Tamil. Judges speaking Tamil had also been appointed to various parts in eastern and northern provinces and interpretation services were made available for victims speaking Tamil.

The Committee asked whether there had been discussion on raising the age under which children could not be prosecuted. Responding, the delegation said Sri Lanka’s promises on that had not been empty promises, but legislators had more urgent issues to deal with. The Committee’s views were taken into consideration and perhaps good news could be announced when a Sri Lankan delegation next appeared before the Committee.

Turning to child labour, the delegation said the Government had been working closely with the International Labour Organization for many years now and institutions such as the Children's Rights Protection Authority had been involved in such activities. The most common forms of child labour were in the informal sector, such as domestic labour, but even these numbers had come down now.

Concerning sexual exploitation, the delegation said this problem was limited regarding the scope of people affected as boys were more concerned (as they could not become pregnant), and because the affected areas were mostly high tourist areas in Sri Lankan coastal areas. This phenomenon could not be instantly eradicated, but must be tackled by ongoing efforts such as help lines, and ongoing programmes such as the special police which had been appointed by the Sri Lankan tourist board.

On the question of de-mining, the delegation said that all mines laid by security forces had been 100 per cent cleared by military engineers. The problem was the mines laid by armed non-state actors, but field searches had been carried out, the relevant areas had been demarcated, and educational programmes had been conducted.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, said the Committee had noted Sri Lanka’s significant achievements in terms of human and social development. Results had also been achieved in terms of legislative reform, but the laws passed must be enforced to affect children’s lives. The question of resources also need to be clarified as actions had not always gone forward due to budget constraints.

Ms. Aidoo said it would further be helpful to integrate a child rights prospective into the budgeting process to ensure that children's rights were accounted for across the board. Structural issues also needed to be dealt with because children in rehabilitation centres, institutionalized children, and internally displaced children needed particular attention, the Rapporteur said.

Sri Lanka should also look into socio-economic, regional, ethnic and other disparities that led to or reflected discrimination, and the international community’s access to conflict-affected zones should be further discussed, Ms. Aidoo concluded

HIRANTHI WIJEMANNE, Consultant to the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka, welcomed all observations the Committee had made since these had been made in the spirit of helping Sri Lankan children.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

Questions by Experts

YANGHEE LEE, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Sri Lanka under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, asked how civil society and child victims of armed conflict had been consulted when preparing the report, pointing out that this initial report did not follow the Committee’s reporting guidelines.

Regarding the downgrading of the Human Rights Commission from A to B status, the delegation said this would soon be modified upon the adoption of the eighteenth amendment to the constitution, passed on 8 September 2010. Having obtained and read a copy of this constitutional amendment, Ms. Lee was confused, notably because the President now had the power to appoint members to the Human Rights Commission. In the opinion of Ms. Lee this would not result in an independent monitoring system. Also, could more information be provided on the status of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, which was the ombudsman?

The Rapporteur wondered whether the Bill on Assistance and Protection of Victims of Crime really provided enough safeguards for victim protection. Also, did victim reparations and witness assistance and protection address the different categories of children with different needs, and could former child soldiers be requested to provide evidence against individuals who were currently in positions of power?

Ms. Lee asked the delegation to clarify the two reported cases where a certain commander of the Ampara district in Eastern Province had re-recruited children, and she also asked how it had been ensured that no persons under 18 had been detained together with adults.

The Rapporteur noted that the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation had established child care centres. However, there seemed to be confusion between accommodation centres (no evidence of offence committed) and rehabilitation centres (evidence of offence while associated with an armed group), Ms. Lee said, highlighting that these two were distinctly different. The Rapporteur also pointed out that it was the age at surrender which was important, not the age at recruitment.

The emergency regulation called for declaration of either Child Accommodation or Child Protective Rehabilitation Centres in the Gazette. The Rapporteur believed there were three centres, namely Ambe Pussa, Poonthotam Centre and the Ramatlan Hindu College. However, had these centres been declared accordingly and how was the length of stay calculated? Many children had already spent a long time as “surrendees” in adult centres prior to being screened and referred to the appropriate centres, Ms. Lee noted, asking how the maximum of one year could be calculated.

Sri Lanka was party to the Paris Commitments, the Rapporteur went on to say, highlighting that the Paris Principles emphasized the centrality of the family and community in the rehabilitation process. Could the delegation thus provide information on the Poonthotam centre, especially its de-militarization despite the fact that it was guarded by military staff?

Turning to death certificates, Ms. Lee echoed the concerns the Committee had expressed yesterday, saying it was important that families knew the status of their loved ones who were still missing. Legislation had been passed within a few months after the tsunami, but was there any legislation or policy similar to that one so as to speed up the issuing of death certificates? Fifteen months had passed since the end of the conflict, but it seemed that no policy or legislation had been devoted to this.

In concluding, Ms. Lee asked whether the Committee could be assured that no children were currently being detained within the High Security Zone in Colombo under the Emergency Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers Regulation No. 1 of 2005.

Another expert then noted that Sri Lanka had neither ratified the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees nor the Rome Statute. Also, Sri Lanka had taken legal steps to prohibit the recruitment of children into armed conflict, but did legislation include provisions for extraterritorial jurisdictions? The Expert understood that children involved in armed conflict would be dealt with by military courts although they should be dealt with by specialized mechanisms. How did Sri Lanka ensure that children were not treated as adults?

Experts also asked how data was being collected to provide appropriate reintegration services and what had been done in terms of family tracing, especially whether it had been successful, conducted in several languages, and implemented both nationally and internationally.

In terms of recovery and rehabilitation, an Expert wished to know what legal and other measures ensured that children in rehabilitation centres were treated as victims and not as offenders and criminals. Also, what safeguards were in place to prevent systematic children's rights violations in such centres given that a majority of the staff were army personnel.

A Committee Member asked whether it was correct that pictures of children taken out of the conflict had been shown on television; what had been done to reduce the number of light arms in the country; and what the motives had been for curtailing humanitarian access for local and international organizations.

Experts also wished to know about any human rights content in textbooks; whether more information could be given on military schools; whether students could withdraw from boarding schools at any time; who was responsible for monitoring, especially the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict; whether and how child victims could lodge complains; and whether Sri Lanka had a law against terrorism and, if so, whether persons under 18 could be charged under that law.

Response by Delegation

Responding to those questions and others, the delegation said regarding the report preparation, that the initial draft had been discussed with civil society. However, there had not been enough time to consult children.

Explaining the downgrading of the Human Rights Commission, the delegation said the seventeenth constitutional amendment made in 2001 had created a constitutional council. However, that council had faced many problems which resulted in a deadlock. The only way forward had been to transform the council and give the residual power to the President. When appointments were directly made by the president, the institution had been downgraded. But now that the eighteenth amendment had been passed there could no longer be any accusation of non-constitutionality. New commissioners would be appointed and it was hoped that the Human Rights Commission could again be given an A status. The delegation insisted that commissioners became independent once they were appointed. A member that represented a minority group would not change his view, for example, just like countries nominated in the United Nations system continued to act with independence. Presidential appointments took place in 90 per cent of jurisdictions, but that did not mean that appointees were beholden to the President.

Turning to the status of the Ombudsman, the delegation said that office was constitutionally recognized and one of the fora to which the public could take its complaints. In addition, the Ombudsman also acted as a forum to which Parliamentarians could refer and it made recommendations to Parliament.

The Bill on Assistance and Protection of Victims of Crime would provide assistance to child victims once passed by Parliament. It would also define a victim very comprehensively, including persons who had suffered a crime and people who interfered to prevent that crime. The Bill also provided for compensation.

As to alleged re-recruitment in Ampara district by a certain commander, the delegation said police investigations had been started as soon as the information had been received from the United Nations Children's Fund. According to the delegation’s information it was not two children, but only one child, that was concerned.

Responding to questions on protective centres, the delegation said the protection of child victims had been given high priority. Also, some children had been sent to Colombo for formal education while others had been given specialized vocational training. Counselling and other services had also been provided. The United Nations Children's Fund had been with the administrators of these centres and teachers had received training.

The Committee asked whether there was any follow-up on how children returning to school were treated by schools, whether they were stigmatized, and how their performance was. The delegation explained that those children were in close contact with the Government, staff from the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as child rights probation officers. The situation had also been monitored and action had been taken to ensure that children were not institutionalized for more than a year.

Joining military academies was voluntary and not allowed for children under eighteen, the delegation said. However, military cadets as young as 16 were being trained on drill purpose rifles, a practice which was strongly discouraged by the Committee. This was necessary in view of the security situation in Sri Lanka, the delegation insisted, but the Committee said less money should be spent on defence and more on community services.

Authorities had been working on family tracing at the village level to find out about missing children. Today, almost 300 children had been reunited with their families and were now going to formal school or attended vocational training.

Asked whether the child protection authority was fully and efficiently working in conflict-affected areas, the delegation said efforts had been undertaken to establish more offices.

In terms of curtailing humanitarian access, the delegation acknowledged that non-governmental organizations needed to register and had to receive security clearances, but if an NGO was happy to work with the system it should not face any issues. In fact, 21 national and international organizations had been granted access to eastern parts of the country and 31 NGOs had been working in the North.

The delegation said Sri Lanka had established a lessons learned commission and had a strong legal system. It therefore did not feel it was necessary to ratify the Rome Statute. The Committee clarified that ratifying the Rome Statute was not only important for countries without strong national legislation on war criminals. The Rome Statute was complementary and enhanced those guarantees. Extraterritorial prosecution was provided for by Sri Lankan law, which also included the Geneva Convention Act, but Sri Lanka had not ratified the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Also regarding legislation, the delegation confirmed that Sri Lanka had in place anti-terrorist legislation, namely the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and after the events of 2001 international terrorism had also been covered. Anti-terrorist law was also applicable to children. In practice however, people convicted for crimes committed as minors who had turned 18 had not been treated as adults.

Various Government agencies worked in tandem with relevant NGOs in terms of data collection and that data was the basis for planning. The delegation hoped that the forthcoming July census would provide further information on children and that a database outlining all children's rights components could be established.

Large amounts of arms and ammunition had been collected so far but the clearing works were ongoing, the delegation said.

It was noted that authorities had not done anything about known recruitments of children during the conflict due to an absence of complaints. Responding, the delegation said the Attorney General was responsible for prosecution but had no power to conduct investigations, which were carried out by the police. The main culprit had been the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam, but no evidence had been found to prosecute that movement even for a single case of child recruitment.

The Attorney General was not asked to conduct any investigations himself. He could commission these, the Committee underscored, adding that the current system allowed impunity for crimes against children. Sri Lanka seemed to be a ripe ground for future recruitment of children into armed conflict.

The delegation responded that any person feeling that child recruitment had taken place could place evidence before a commission which would then alert the Attorney General. The mechanism was therefore in place, the delegation said, and the commission should not be pre-judged.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

YANGHEE LEE, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Sri Lanka under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, in preliminary concluding observations, said it was difficult to fully understand the situation in Sri Lanka from Geneva. The Committee nonetheless urged Sri Lanka to promptly prosecute perpetrators of child recruitment, lift restrictions on the activities of humanitarian organizations, and investigate the whereabouts of detained children, among other things. Ms. Lee insisted that children accused of crimes be treated in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and urged Sri Lanka to continue cooperating with United Nations agencies, NGOs, and the Secretary-General’s panel on accountability in Sri Lanka.

HIRANTHI WIJEMANNE, Consultant to the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka, said for those working with surrendering children it was a great privilege to work with them and marvellous to see their willingness. Although many bad things had been said about them, Ms. Wijemanne had much hope for them. Even though these children had suffered, they could be the building block for sustainable peace if given the right support.

UTHMAN LEBBE MOHAMMED JAUHAR, Minister at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva, also in some concluding remarks, thanked the Committee for its constructive comments. All observations had been listened to and would be considered in the context of the resources available in Sri Lanka.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CRC10/039E