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Sri Lanka - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 44 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child: Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1998: Addendum [2002] UNCRCSPR 22; CRC/C/70/Add.17 (19 November 2002)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/70/Add.17 19 November
2002
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1998
SRI
LANKA[*]
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 -
6 3
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 7 - 26 4
II. CIVIL
RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 27 - 86 8
III. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE
CARE 87 - 103 22
IV. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 104 -
125 27
V. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 126 -
148 32
VI. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 149 -
256 36
VII. CONCLUSION 257 56
Annex: Demographic, social,
health, educational and economic
indicators of Sri Lanka 57
Introduction
- Under
article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Sri Lanka has
undertaken to submit to the Committee on the Rights of
the Child periodic
reports on the measures it has adopted to give effect to the rights recognized
in the Convention.
- Accordingly,
in February 1994, the Government of Sri Lanka submitted its initial report
(CRC/C/8/Add.13) which outlined how obligations
under the Convention were met,
including issues and challenges. The Committee considered the initial report of
Sri Lanka at its
228th to 230th meetings (CRC/C/SR.228-230), held in Geneva on 5
and 6 June 1995.
- The
Committee in its concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.40) noted with
appreciation the institutional mechanisms established in
Sri Lanka to monitor
the implementation of child rights, develop a national action plan for children
and maintain a constructive
dialogue between the Government and non-governmental
organizations. The Committee made a number of concluding observations, which
are being addressed in the second periodic report.
- Since
Sri Lanka’s initial report dealt at length with the historical,
socio-economic and political context of the country, the
present report focuses
only on information relevant to the period between February 1994 and July 1999.
It also attempts to provide
updated information in respect of the concerns
expressed and issues commented on by the Committee in its concluding
observations
on the initial report.
- Accordingly,
this report provides information on the following
areas:
(a) Changes that have been made in
legislation;
(b) Accession to bilateral and multilateral agreements in
the field of children’s rights;
(c) Mechanisms and structures
instituted to coordinate and monitor national activities for implementing the
Convention;
(d) Sectoral policies, programmes and services developed to
implement the Convention;
(e) Progress achieved in the enforcement of
children’s rights;
(f) Constraints and difficulties encountered in
the implementation of rights set forth in the Convention and on steps taken to
overcome
them;
(g) Plans envisaged for further improvement and
realization of the rights of the child.
- While
detailed statistical information as appropriate is provided in the text, for
purposes of convenience and for comparison with
the situation prevailing at the
time of the initial report, the annex gives a picture of the principal social,
health and economic
indicators, reflecting the socioeconomic situation in Sri
Lanka pertaining to the years 1994 and 1998.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
A. Constitutional provisions
- Chapter
Three of Sri Lanka’s Constitution, which deals with fundamental rights,
guarantees to all citizens, including children,
specific rights and freedoms.
Furthermore, article 12 (4) provides for the enactment of legislation
or the initiation of executive
action for the advancement of women, children or
disabled persons. The Government, having considered, among others, the
representations
made by the National Monitoring Committee under the
Children’s Charter, has included in its proposed constitutional reforms
special clauses relating to the rights of children. A child is now defined as a
person under the age of 18 years. Hence, this can
be regarded as the first time
that children have been accorded special constitutional rights.
- There
is an ongoing process of review of legislation to ensure compatibility with the
Convention on key issues relating to children.
In 1998, the Ministry of Justice
took action to amend the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act in
order to strengthen
the child rights protection mechanism. In pursuance of
the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on the Prevention and
Control
of Child Abuse, amendments were made in 1995 to the 100yearold Penal Code in
order to protect children from sexual exploitation.
A bill to convert the Task
Force into a Child Protection Authority was passed by Parliament in
January 1999 and was endorsed by
both the ruling political party and the
opposition.
B. The National Monitoring Committee under the Sri Lanka
Children’s Charter
- The
National Monitoring Committee (NMC) is a permanent body, which has been
established by Her Excellency the President. Sri Lanka’s
Children’s
Charter has made provision for its establishment and its membership includes
representatives of key sectors relevant
to child rights as well as child
activists. Monthly meetings are held to monitor and coordinate the
implementation of children’s
rights. This Committee undertakes the
preparation of the monitoring report. The Secretary, Ministry of Social
Services, chairs
the Committee, which makes policy-related recommendations and
decisions. Since NMC functions at the central level, provincial-level
monitoring committees, which deal more closely with the child rights issue at
the provincial, district and divisional level, have
also been set up.
Provincial committees are headed by the Chief Secretaries of the provinces. The
provincial committees participate
in
NMC meetings on specific
issues and programmes.
- The
provincial-level monitoring committees link up with NMC when the provincial
authorities attend its meetings. Reports on activities
undertaken at the local
level are made available periodically to the national committee. However, the
channels of communication
need to be further strengthened and improved to
provide for a more frequent flow of information from the provincial committees
to
NMC.
- NMC
should be invested with more powers, and a mechanism should be established to
deal with follow-up and communication activities
of the Committee. However,
there are resource constraints, which need to be overcome in order to achieve
these objectives.
- Far-reaching
recommendations have been made to reform the current system of juvenile justice.
At the request of NMC, an expert in
July 1997 prepared a report entitled
“The Abused Child and the Legal Process of Sri Lanka”. Issues
raised in the report
are receiving due consideration by the
Government.
C. Data and information
- While
NMC has achieved a degree of success in implementing certain legal and policy
changes relating to children, there are some drawbacks,
which need to be
addressed. There is a need to develop a comprehensive and multisectoral
assessment of the needs and problems of
children to enable the Committee to
undertake more effective monitoring of the Convention. At present, issues tend
to be raised
on an ad hoc basis. Although information on indicators such as
infant, under-five and maternal mortality is available, there is
a delay in
obtaining confirmed data. Generally, the information is 5 to 6 years old.
However, owing to recent efforts of the Registrar
General’s office, there
is an improvement in the quality of mortality data and the promptness of data
supply. This improvement
came about as a result of streamlining the process of
receiving death registration returns by the head office. A modern system of
computerized data processing, including an information system, has now been
established in order to improve data availability. Up-to-date
mortality
information up to 1996 has been processed.
- New
processes have also been established to obtain infant, under-five and maternal
mortality data by gender and cause of death from
sources at the divisional
level. This will help to identify more disadvantaged areas and to reduce
disparities. Information on
nutrition is comprehensive and up to date; and
health data on immunizeable diseases, diarrhoea and malaria are available. Data
on
education are in the process of being improved both in terms of quality and
quantity. A review of data collection and analysis has
been undertaken with a
view to improving reporting processes. An improved education information system
with mapping as one of its
elements has been established. The School Census of
1997 has been completed. A Study on Learning Achievements was completed in
July
1999.
- Information
on protection issues relating to such matters as child domestic labour,
child abuse, street children, sexual exploitation
of children, as well as
the situation of children affected by the armed conflict is unfortunately,
inadequate. At present, only
survey data are available for certain areas,
collected and analysed by individual researchers. A Child Activity Survey is
currently
in progress as part of a Labour Force Survey, which identifies
critical child labour issues.
- Up-to-date
and comprehensive information relating to all aspects of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child is not available. How
the available data should be fed into
a regular surveillance system has to be determined. Such a system should be
linked to the
monitoring committee and policy-formulation and decision-making
processes at all levels of the Government. The available data are
mainly used
for planning purposes at the sectoral level by individual ministries and
departments. Such sectoral interventions have
an impact on children. For
example, it was the 1994 Learning Achievement Study which led to reform of the
education system. Similarly,
studies on child abuse, which received media
publicity, led to the formation
of a Presidential Task Force and a Child Protection Authority. At present,
there is no system of impact analysis of measures taken
for the protection of
children to provide a basis for policy formulation and decision-making by the
Government. A parliamentary
mechanism to ensure appropriate scrutiny and debate
relating to the implementation of the Convention would be most useful, though
there is no regular reporting to Parliament on it. An informal grouping of
parliamentarians has been set up and this could be the
nucleus of a more formal
structure in the future. It is a positive development, which needs to be
supported.
D. NGO involvement
- NGOs
are involved in monitoring the implementation of the Convention at all levels of
the society. There is an NGO Forum, which undertakes
monitoring, in addition to
a Child Rights Group within the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies.
There is no Ombudsman/Commissioner
for Children. However, the National Child
Protection Authority (NCPA) is performing a monitoring role where child abuse is
concerned.
NCPA is also involved in following up individual complaints.
Provincial-level child protection committees operate with local NGO
participation - an exercise which has proved useful. NGOs are also represented
on NMC.
E. Basic social services
- The
Government undertook a study on basic services which have a direct impact on
children. A review of the study led to the conclusion
that total government
spending on basic social services, although lower than the targeted level of 20
per cent of overall expenditure,
has remained relatively high during the past
two decades, with significant high variations observed in the level of spending
on nutritional
subsidies. In spite of considerable resources being absorbed by
the conflict, the aggregate spending level in recent years has averaged
approximately 12-16 per cent of total government spending, with basic health
accounting for 45 per cent, basic education 34 per cent,
nutrition 4-6 per cent, and water and sanitation 12 per cent. With
the exception of water and sanitation infrastructure, basic social
services
account for a higher proportion of recurrent government
expenditure.
- Donor
expenditure on basic social services, while somewhat higher proportionally than
government expenditure, still falls below the
targeted level of 20 per cent.
Unlike government expenditure, donor expenditure levels show considerable
fluctuation from year to
year, as a consequence of the project-driven nature of
donor assistance and the reluctance of most donors to support recurrent
expenditure.
- While
overall expenditure on basic social services may be relatively low, there is
wide coverage of services, particularly with respect
to basic health and
education. Universal access to basic services is largely achieved despite
below-average expenditure levels.
Three reasons account for this. The first is
the relatively low cost of production of basic services. Health services appear
to
be delivered at unit costs far lower than those observed elsewhere. Primary
education unit costs are also relatively low. The reasons
for low costs include
a high degree of utilization of resources and a relatively efficient allocation
of inputs.
- The
second reason is the relative equity of distribution and allocation of resources
in the health and education sectors. Although
the decentralization of power
through Provincial Councils was undertaken in the early 1990s, the geographical
distribution of resources
and expenditure did not indicate gross inequities.
The utilization of basic health and education services is either relatively
equal
across all income groups or substantially weighted towards the poorer
households. The pro-poor distribution of health and education
spending is due
to two factors, namely, near universal access and the lack or modest level
of user charges for basic services. The
strong government commitment and the
belief that these services are the right of all citizens have combined to create
universal access.
When government financial resources are limited, social
sector funding has been protected in the government budget, even at the
expense
of critical areas of economic investment.
- The
third reason is the fact that the Government has continued to allocate a high
level of its social sector funding to basic services
and has refrained from
providing substantial allocations to higher-level tertiary services. More than
80 per cent of the total health
budget is devoted to basic health services and
more than 35 per cent of the education budget is allocated to primary
education.
F. Expenditure pattern
- So
far, Sri Lanka has not experienced a fiscal crisis. Though economic growth in
the past decade has been modest, real per capita
expenditure on social services
has in fact increased. Nevertheless, significant increases in budgetary
allocations to basic social
services in the next three to six years are
unlikely, as available discretionary funding is limited. The ongoing internal
conflict
(and an earlier insurgency during 1987-1990) has resulted in increased
expenditure on defence.
- A
fundamental obligation of the State to the people is to ensure their security.
Hence, the current level of defence expenditure
is unlikely to diminish until
after the cessation of the conflict. Even after the end of the conflict,
immediate fiscal savings
are unlikely, as demobilized personnel will have to be
found alternative avenues of employment to provide them with an income. A
large
proportion of rural households are dependent on salaries paid to armed forces.
In addition, expenditure on reconstruction
and rehabilitation will have to
increase substantially in order to secure peace and provide the means for
economic activity to restart
in the currently warafflicted areas. The
Government of Sri Lanka has been urged to bring the war to an end through peace
negotiations.
However, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is
waging a war against a democratically elected Government in Sri Lanka
in order
to create a mono-ethnic separate state in Sri Lanka, seems unwilling to join the
democratic process and engage in negotiations
aimed at finding a political
solution to the conflict. Their goals are in direct contradiction to the
country’s sovereignty.
- The
direct cost of the internal conflict has necessitated the reduction of
expenditure in other sectors. However, the expenditure
on basic social services
has largely been protected in the budgetary allocation process. Further,
expenditure on reconstruction
and rehabilitation will have to be substantially
increased in order to provide the means for economic activity in the
warafflicted
areas.
G. National Plan of Action for Children
- A
National Plan of Action for Children was prepared 1991. Funds were allocated
for specific areas of need, particularly in the health
and education sectors,
based on needs identified by provincial authorities. A review will be
undertaken to determine how these funds
will be utilized and their impact, as
well as future directions.
II. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Constitutional provisions
- The
Constitution of Sri Lanka (1978) recognizes a number of fundamental rights and
freedoms, which are justifiable. The rights and freedoms recognized
under the
Constitution are guaranteed to all citizens, including children. Furthermore,
article 12 (4) provides for the enactment of legislation or the
initiation of
executive action for the advancement of women, children or disabled
persons.
- The
Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country, is vested with the
power to hear and determine any questions relating
to the infringement or
imminent infringement, by executive or administrative action, of any fundamental
right declared and recognized
by the Constitution.
- In
1981, legislation was enacted to provide for the appointment of a Parliamentary
Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman). The
Ombudsman is vested with the
power to inquire into allegations of infringement of fundamental rights or other
injustices committed
by public officers.
- With
the enactment of legislation in 1996 for the establishment of a National
Human Rights Commission, another redress mechanism was
provided for
obtaining relief from the effects of violations of fundamental rights by
executive or administrative action. The Human
Rights Commission Act No. 21
of 1996 provides for the establishment of a permanent Human Rights Commission
with powers to inquire
into and, where appropriate, attempt conciliation or
mediation in respect of violations of fundamental rights enshrined in the
Constitution. Where an investigation conducted by the Human Rights Commission
discloses the infringement or imminent infringement of a fundamental
right, the
Commission is empowered to recommend prosecution against the violator or to
refer the matter to the Supreme Court for
determination with a view to
preventing or remedying such infringement or its continuation.
- On
8 September 1998, Parliament passed the National Child Protection Authority
(NCPA) Act No. 50 of 1998. NCPA was appointed by the
President in June
1999 and is functioning effectively in monitoring child abuse. It acts as a
coordinating mechanism between governmental
and non-governmental organizations
concerned with issues relating to prevention of child abuse and the protection
and treatment of
victims of such abuse. For the purposes of the National Child
Protection Authority Act, child abuse is defined to mean all acts
of sexual
violence against children, trafficking in children, cruelty to children and the
use of children in obscene publications
and exploitative labour. It also has a
bearing on compulsory education and the involvement of children in armed
conflicts.
- Sri
Lankan courts have permitted persons who claim violations of their rights to
petition court by letter, e.g. the Boosa detainees’
applications,
1990-1992. Removal of procedural barriers would enable victims to have wider
access to justice. There have also been
instances where the Supreme Court has
directed organizations such as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to provide legal
aid to petitioners
(e.g. the Boosa cases).
- In
1994, the Police Department established Women’s and Children’s Desks
in 33 main police stations with a view to facilitating
complaint procedures in
respect of violence against women and children. The Desks have been assessed in
terms of effectiveness.
Several programmes have been identified to strengthen
these units for their more effective functioning. A Police Hot Line has
been
established to receive complaints of abuse. A handbook for police
personnel was produced and distributed. The Attorney-General’s
Department
has recently established a special unit within the Department to deal with child
abuse prosecutions. During the past
few years, the Sri Lankan judicial,
investigative and prosecution authorities have been providing mutual legal
assistance in cases
where Sri Lankan children have been abused by foreigners,
thereby enabling foreign courts to dispense justice more
effectively.
- The
People’s Alliance (PA) Government, which was elected to office through
multi-party elections on 16 August 1994, has declared
its commitment to the
promotion and protection of human rights as a matter of the highest priority.
One of the principal pledges
of the PA Government was the framing and
adoption of a new Constitution. Government proposals for constitutional reform
seek, inter alia, to recognize the special rights of children. These rights
(to
which reference is made elsewhere in this report) are an addition to
other fundamental rights to be enshrined in the proposed
Constitution.
- The
constitutional provisions already available or proposed to meet the requirements
of the Convention are given below.
B. Non-discrimination (article 2 of Convention)
- Article
12 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka guarantees to all citizens the right to
equality before the law, irrespective of race, religion, language, caste, sex,
political opinion, place of birth, or any one of such grounds. It further
provides for the enactment of legislation or the initiation
of executive action
for the advancement of women, children or disabled persons.
- Sri
Lanka, being a multi-ethnic, multireligious society, has certain personal laws
which are applicable only to specified ethnic and
religious groups and which
defer from the general law. The minimum age of marriage under the general law
is 18 years. The personal
laws applicable to Kandyans have been amended to
raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years. The personal laws applicable to
Muslims do not specify a minimum age of marriage. In the context of the Sri
Lankan society, uniformity in personal laws has to be
achieved through demands
originating in the relevant communities themselves.
- Heads
of school have to adhere strictly to approved criteria in the matter of
admission of children, and any deviation is regarded
as discrimination amounting
to violation of a fundamental right. In recent years, the Supreme Court has
granted relief to children
who have alleged discriminations in regard to school
admission.
- Sri
Lanka’s Maintenance Law of 1889, which had remained without major
amendments in the past, was replaced in July 1999 with
a new Maintenance Act No.
37 of 1999. Every attempt is made in the new Act to enhance the duty of parents
to support their children.
In fact, the long title of the new Act states that,
among other objectives, the Act ensures compliance of the law relating to
maintenance
in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child. One of the significant features in relation to children
contained in the Act is that there is no discrimination between an adopted
offspring and a biological offspring.
- Under
the Maintenance Act there is provision permitting a maintenance application to
be made on behalf of a person who is incapable
of doing so. References to
“illegitimate child” are replaced by “non-marital
offspring”. The time limit
of 12 months within which an application on
behalf on a non-marital child was required to be made under the old law is not
retained,
thus removing that discriminatory feature despite agitation from
certain groups for its retention. The Minister of Justice, in introducing
the
Maintenance Bill in Parliament on 7 July 1999, stated that “the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically
lays down that there
should be no discrimination of any kind between legitimate and illegitimate
children in respect of their status
at the time of birth ... that a
woman’s action [claiming maintenance in relation to a non-marital child]
will not be entertained
after 12 months is wholly inconsistent with the core
obligations devolving upon Sri Lanka in terms of the Convention on the Rights
of
the Child which we have ratified. So, I have adopted that point of view and
removed from the content of the law this anomalous
restriction, which has found
its way into our statute books only because of certain outdated values and ideas
with regard to the
status of women and the relationship between husband and
wife.”
- In
terms of the present Constitution, existing written and unwritten laws are
declared valid, irrespective of their inconsistency with the fundamental rights
recognized
by the Constitution. The proposed Constitution provides for the
establishment by the President within three months of its enactment, a
commission to examine all existing written
and unwritten laws and report as to
whether any such laws are inconsistent with the fundamental rights recognized by
the Constitution.
C. Name and nationality (article 7 of Convention)
- Although
the present Constitution does not refer to the right of a child to a name from
birth, it has been proposed to include this right in the proposed Constitution.
- The
Registrar General of births, deaths and marriages, in collaboration with NMC,
has initiated a programme of action to ensure that
all children are able to
obtain a birth certificate. An initial step in that programme is a
house-to-house survey at divisional
level followed by contact with the parents
of children who do not have birth certificates. Special mobile teams will be
deployed
in areas where there are relatively large numbers of such children. It
is estimated that at least 80 per cent of births are registered,
as over 93
per cent of births take place in government institutions where birth
registration facilities are available.
- Under
the National Immunization Programme conducted in 1999, nearly 1.8 million
children under the age of 5 were given polio drops
at 10,000 centres. This
programme was also used to assess birth registration status and facilitate the
issuance of birth certificates
for those who did not possess
them.
- The
Sri Lankan law on citizenship distinguishes between citizenship by birth and
descent and citizenship by registration. In the
case of marital children,
citizenship by descent is only through the paternal line. In the case of
non-marital children, it is through
the mother. However, proof is required that
the child’s maternal grandfather and maternal great grandfather were born
in Sri
Lanka. Citizenship by registration can be acquired by children born
to both married and unmarried parents, if the mother is a citizen
by descent and
she can satisfy certain stipulated requirements.
- The
inability to gain Sri Lankan citizenship through the maternal line has received
constant attention and at present a committee
appointed by the Ministry of
Defence is examining the matter with a view to formulating a policy
decision.
- It
would be of interest to note that Sri Lankan citizenship laws provide for a
foreign man or woman to apply for Sri Lankan citizenship
by registration upon
marriage to a Sri Lankan. Although there is no discriminatory statutory
provision, guidelines formulated for
granting citizenship to foreign spouses of
Sri Lankan citizens vary. Foreign wives of Sri Lankan citizens have not
experienced any
problems in this regard as yet. However, the position is
different in the case of foreign husbands. In 1996, a Sri Lankan woman
filed a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court alleging a violation
of her right to equality when her foreign husband
was denied a residence visa.
Three judges of the Supreme Court made an order that so long as
the
Sri Lankan wife is married to the foreign husband, the Controller of Immigration
and Emigration should issue a residence visa
to the husband with the right to
work in Sri Lanka.
The Attorney-General subsequently informed the
Controller that the existing guidelines on visa applications were discriminatory
against
a female spouse and were contrary to equality clauses in the
Constitution (SC Application No. 712/96). Similarly, a marital
child of a Sri Lankan woman married to a foreign national will not
acquire Sri Lankan nationality by birth as of right.
D. Freedom of expression (article 13 of Convention)
- Article
14 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka recognizes freedom of
speech and expression, including publication, as a fundamental right guaranteed
to every citizen.
The Constitution permits restriction by law to this right in
the interest of racial and religious harmony or in relation to parliamentary
privilege,
contempt of court, defamation, incitement to an offence, national
security, public order, the protection of public health morality,
or securing of
due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and meeting
the just requirements of the general
welfare of a democratic
society.
- A
child’s right to participation involves the traditional civil rights such
as freedom of thought, conscience, expression and
association, thus recognizing
the right to be heard and to participate in the decisionmaking process where it
has an impact on a
child’s life. This is an area in which activities take
place in some schools and under some programmes implemented by NGOs.
However,
further work is needed to foster greater participation of children.
E. Best interests of the child (article 3 of
Convention)
- In
guardianship and custody issues, the Sri Lankan courts have applied the concept
of “best interests of the child”.
Despite initial emphasis on the
paternal right to custody, a mother’s right in the “best interest of
the child”
has been recognized even under the personal laws. From a very
early date, the Sri Lankan courts, acting as the higher guardian of
a
child, have recognized that a child should be given a central place in such
issues.
- The
application of the “best interests” principle reflects the
recognition of the child as a person with an identity and
whose needs and
interests merit consideration.
- The
Sri Lankan legal system has accepted 16 years and 14 years as the ages of
discretion for boys and girls respectively, without
reference to the maturity of
Sri Lankan children. Accordingly, a girl of 16 years has been judicially
considered to be free to decide
whether
she wishes to sever all
connections with her parents and reside in a place of her choice. The
Sri
Lankan law recognizes the concept of tacit emancipation, according to which
permission granted by a parent to a minor child to
carry on a business and live
on his/her own confers legal capacity for certain purposes and contractual
capacity and liability.
Considering the importance of education, the Sri Lankan
courts have refused to consider the age of puberty as relevant for making
it
obligatory for a Muslim child to take employment to relieve the father of his
legal duty to support (Burhan v. Ismail (19781979) 2 SLR, p.
218).
- Under
Sri Lankan law a child over 10 years can be adopted only with the child’s
consent.
- A
1999 amendment to the Law of Evidence in Sri Lanka permits, in cases of child
abuse, the reception of videotaped evidence of the
preliminary interview of a
child victim or witness. This will prevent a child being further harmed by a
formal legal process, which
a child very often finds difficult to endure in view
of his/her tender years. The new procedure will be less traumatic and will
enhance a child’s freedom of expression in court
proceedings.
- A
child’s right to express himself/herself has been recognized in a
recent case where five children petitioned the Supreme Court on violation of
their fundamental rights.
The subject matter of the case was the operation of
the generator of a thermal power plant by the Ceylon Electricity Board (the
respondent). The respondent agreed to discontinue the operation of the plant
and to make an ex gratia payment to the petitioners
(Harindra and
Others v. The Ceylon Electricity Board and Others, SC Application No.
323/97).
F. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (article 14 of
Convention)
- Article
10 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka guarantees to every person freedom of
thought, conscience and religion. This right is not subject to any
restriction.
- The
Sri Lankan courts have upheld the rights of children to adopt a particular mode
of dress consistent with religious practice.
A case in point is the right of a
Muslim girl to cover her head even though it does not conform to the dress code
of the educational
institution she attends.
- The
operation of article10 of the Constitution may in some instances erode a
child’s
right to inheritance. Such an instance was
illustrated by a Supreme Court determination in Ghouse v. Ghouse. In
this case, the Supreme Court held that the Muslims who could adopt children
under a uniform Adoption Statute could nevertheless
rely on Islamic principles
of inheritance and deny an adopted child’s right to succeed to his
adoptive parents wealth and property
if they died intestate.
G. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (article 15 of
Convention)
- Articles
14 (1) (b) and 14 (1) (c) of the Constitution respectively
guarantee to all citizens freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of
association. These rights are subject to restrictions
that may be prescribed by
law in the interests of racial and religious harmony or national
economy.
- There
are many organizations such as the Girl Guides and the Boy Scouts which enable
children within the school system to organize
and engage themselves in such
areas as social welfare and environmental campaigns.
- In
Sri Lanka, the Trade Unions Ordinance of 1935 permits persons under the age of
21 but above the age of 16 to be members of trade
unions unless the rules
of any union provide to the contrary. Subject to the rules of a trade union,
such members may enjoy all the
rights of members but may not be executive
members or trustees of the trade union.
H. Protection of privacy (article 16 of Convention)
- The
present Constitution is silent on the question of the right to privacy. The
existing law provides for the institution of proceedings against civil and
criminal defamation. The proposed constitutional reforms seek to elevate a
person’s right to privacy as a fundamental right
in order to protect him
or her from unlawful interference with his or her private and family life, home,
correspondence or communications,
as well as attacks on his or her honour and
reputation.
- The
right to privacy is sought to be restricted only in the interest of national
security, public order, national economy, protection
of public health, public
morality, securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of
others, or in the enforcement
of a judgement of a competent court.
- Article
106 of the Constitution empowers a court to use its discretion to conduct in
camera hearings in proceedings relating to family relations or sexual matters.
- In
terms of the Penal Code, as amended in 1995, it is an offence to publish any
matter relating to sexual offences. This provision
was introduced with a view
to preventing the identification of victims in such cases. This offence carries
a term of imprisonment
of up to
two years.
I. Access to appropriate information (article 17 of
Convention)
- While
the present Constitution does not recognize the right to information as set out
in the Convention, the proposed constitutional reforms seek to recognize the
right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas orally, in writing, and
in the form of art or through any other medium.
J. Right not to be subjected to torture or to other cruel,
inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment (article 37 (a) of
Convention)
- In
terms of article 11 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, no person shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
This right cannot
be restricted.
- Sri
Lanka became a State party to the Convention against Torture or Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 3
January 1994. On
25 November 1999 the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act,
No. 22 of 1994, was
passed by Parliament to give effect to the Convention against Torture. This Act
prescribes a mandatory minimum
jail term of seven years for offences under the
Act. The enactment of such legislation further reinforces Sri Lanka’s
commitment
to uphold the right to freedom from torture.
- Corporal
punishment is permitted in school for disciplinary purposes, subject, however,
to strict limitations. Regulations made under
the Education Ordinance of 1939
permit corporal punishment only for grave misconduct or habitual idleness and
only when other methods
of punishment have been tried without effect. It can be
inflicted only by headmasters and, in the case of girls, by a female assistant.
Corporal punishment can be inflicted with a cane on the palm of the hand, and
the number of cuts must never exceed four. It is
further regulated that
children must never be struck with the hand or tied up.
- As
to whether corporal punishment in school violates article 11 of the Constitution
is yet to be judicially determined. Both NMC and NCPA advocate a repeal of this
regulation. Discussions are being held with the
Ministry of Education to
replace corporal punishment with alternatives as principals and teachers wish
some disciplinary measures
to be made available to them.
- In
a case where a 17yearold schoolboy was assaulted during school hours by a deputy
principal and some other staff members, the Supreme
Court decided that in view
of the seriousness of the dereliction and the issues involved, it could not
accept the claim of the respondents
that the impugned acts involved disciplinary
action not violative of fundamental rights. The deputy principal admitted that
he slapped
the petitioner once for a disciplinary infraction. The Court, in
awarding compensation to the victim, observed that the Court, by
granting
appropriate relief, must reassure the victim that the humiliation inflicted on
him had been removed and thus in some way
guarantee his future mental health,
which was vital to his advancement in life (Douglas Bandara v.
Wickramasinghe, SC Application No. 190/94).
- As
for allegations of torture, the normal cases filed in the Supreme Court relate
to assaults causing physical impairment. However,
in Kumarasena v.
Sub-Inspector Sriyantha and Others (SC Application
257/93), even though there was no allegation of physical violence, the court yet
held that there was a violation of
the fundamental right guaranteed under
article 11. This was a case where a young girl who had been arrested without
reasonable grounds
and detained at a police station alleged that during the time
of her detention, several police officers had touched her body, squeezed
her
breasts, questioned her as to whether she wore underwear and invited her to go
out with one of them. The Court held that the
words and actions of the police
officers were capable of humiliating the victim and amounted to degrading
treatment.
- As
regards whipping as a form of punishment, the Corporal Punishment Ordinance
of 1889 permits male child offenders to be sentenced to whipping,
specifying the number of strokes to be administered according to
the age of the
child. Corporal punishment cannot be imposed on females. According to the
Ordinance, in the case of children above
16 years, corporal punishment is
inflicted with a cane and in the case of children under 16 with a light cane.
This punishment is
required to be inflicted in the presence of a medical
officer.
K. Constitutional reforms with regard to special rights of
children
- In
addition to the specific rights referred to above and to all other rights to
which a citizen is entitled in terms of the Constitution, the proposed
constitutional reforms also seek to recognize special rights of children. The
envisaged special rights, which recognize
a child as a person under the age
of 18 years, are as follows:
(a) The right to be
protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation;
(b) The
right to have an attorney-at-law assigned to the child by the State, and at
State expense, in criminal proceedings affecting
the child, if substantial
injustice would otherwise result;
(c) The right to family care or
parental care or appropriate alternative care when removed from the family
environment;
(d) The right to basic nutrition, shelter, basic health
care and social services;
(e) The right to grow up in an environment
protected from the negative consequences of the consumption of addictive
substances harmful
to the health of the child and, to the extent possible, from
the promotion of such substances;
(f) The right of access to free
education provided by the State for children between the ages
of 5 and 14;
(g) The right not to be employed in
hazardous activity.
- It
is further provided that the State shall take reasonable legislative and other
measures within available resources with a view
to achieving the progressive
realization of the rights to care, nutrition, shelter, health care and social
services.
- The
proposed reforms require that in all matters concerning children, whether
undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions,
courts,
administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the
child shall be of paramount importance.
L. Recent legislative amendments relating to the prevention of
child abuse
1. Penal Code (Amendment) Act, No. 22 of 1995
- The
Penal Code (Amendment) Act, No. 22 of 1995 came into operation
on
21 October 1995. The Act deals primarily with sexual offences and
offences against children. The amendments have been drafted
having regard to
the representations received from various organizations concerned with the
protection of women and children and
also taking into consideration the
recommendations made by official committees appointed for the purpose as well as
proposals formulated
at recent seminars on the subject. The amended Act
contains provision to strengthen the law relating to the following
offences:
1. Use of children in obscene publications, exhibition,
etc.
2. Cruelty to children.
3. Grievous hurt.
4. Sexual
harassment.
5. Procurement.
6. Sexual exploitation of
children.
7. Trafficking in
persons.
8. Rape.
9. Incest.
10. Unnatural
offences.
11. Gross indecency.
12. Grave sexual
abuse.
13. Publication of matters relating to sexual offences.
- In
these reforms a significant feature is the creation of certain new offences and
the prescribing of minimum mandatory penalties
for such offences. Given below
is a summary of the amendments to the Penal Code, as well as the former
position.
Offence
|
Former position
|
Amendment
|
1
|
Sects. 285-287
Sale, distribution, import, print for sale or hire,
exhibition to public view, any obscene publication; possession of such
publication.
Imprisonment extending to 3 months or a fine or
both.
|
Using children for obscene publications, exhibitions,
etc.
Mandatory minimum penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment
(not exceeding 10 years) and a fine at the discretion of court.
|
|
(Similar provision is found in the Obscene Publications Ordinance, the
penalty being imprisonment extended to 3 months or a fine not
exceeding
Rs 1,000 or both.)
|
10 years and a fine at the discretion of court.
|
|
There was no provision dealing with the use of children in such
publications, exhibitions, etc.
|
|
2
|
Cruelty to children was an offence under the Children and Young
Persons’ Ordinance with a penalty of imprisonment extending
to
3 years or a fine of up to Rs 1,000 or both.
|
Cruelty to Children (sect. 308 A)
Mandatory minimum sentence of
2 years’ imprisonment (not exceeding 10 years) with a fine and
compensation if court so determines.
|
3
|
Sect. 311
Grievous hurt
|
Recognition of new categories of grievous hurt.
|
4
|
Sect. 345
Assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to
outrage her modesty.
|
Replaced with sexual harassment of a male or a female (including in
a place of work).
|
|
Imprisonment extending to 2 years or a fine or both and
whipping.
|
Imprisonment extending to 5 years or a fine or both and compensation if
court so determines.
|
Offence
|
Former position
|
Amendment
|
5
|
Sect. 360 A
Procurement of a girl or a woman.
|
Procurement of a male or a female.
|
|
Imprisonment extending to 2 years and if the offender is a male,
whipping.
|
A mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment (not
exceeding 10 years) and a fine at discretion of court.
|
6
|
Sect. 360 A
Causing children to be involved in Prostitution was an
offence under the Children and Young Person’s Ordinance, but the
definition of the offence was not sufficient to deal with the perpetrators
effectively. It did not deal with other forms of sexual abuse.
|
Sexual Exploitation of Children (sect. 360).
A mandatory
minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment (not exceeding 20 years)
with a fine at discretion of court.
|
7
|
Slavery was the offence recognized. The provisions repealed referred to
slavery and created the offence of trafficking in persons.
|
Trafficking in Persons (sect. 360 C).
A mandatory minimum penalty of
2 years’ imprisonment (not exceeding 20 years); a mandatory
minimum penalty of 5 years (not exceeding 20 years), in the case of children and
a fine at discretion of court.
|
8
|
Sect. 363
Rape
Imprisonment which may extend to 20 years
and a fine.
Marital rape was not an offence. Age of statutory rape was
12 years.
|
Recognition of marital rape where spouses are judicially
separated.
The age of statutory rape is increased to 16 years
(unless the woman is his wife who is over 12 years of age).
There is
specific provision that evidence of physical injury is not essential to prove a
lack of consent.
A mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years’
imprisonment.
|
Offence
|
Former position
|
Amendment
|
8
(cont’d)
|
|
For the following, a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’
imprisonment (not exceeding 20 years) is provided:
(a) Custodial
rape; (b) Rape of a pregnant woman; (c) Rape of a woman
under 18 years; (d) Rape of a woman who is mentally or
physically disabled; (e) Gang rape.
|
|
|
The court is vested with discretion to impose a lesser term of imprisonment
in the case of an offender under 18 years and where the
victim is under 16 years
and has consented to the act of intercourse.
|
|
Sect. 364 A
Defilement of girls between 12 and 14
years.
Imprisonment which may extend to 2 years and whipping at
discretion of court.
|
Replaced under grave sexual abuse (see new sect. 365).
|
9
|
Prior to the amendment, incest was an offence only under the Marriage
Laws.
|
New section 364 A relates to offence of incest.
A mandatory
minimum sentence of 7 years’ imprisonment (not exceeding 20 years)
and a fine could be prescribed.
|
|
|
Where the victim is under 16 years, a mandatory minimum sentence of
15 years’ imprisonment (not exceeding 20 years) and a fine. There is
provision that prosecution for incest shall commence only
with the written
sanction of the Attorney-General.
|
Offence
|
Former position
|
Amendment
|
10
|
Sect. 365 A
Unnatural offence.
Imprisonment which may extend
to 2 years.
|
A mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment
(not exceeding 20 years) a fine and compensation, where the offender
is
over 18 years and the victim is under 18 years.
|
11
|
Sect. 366 A
Acts of gross indecency between male
persons.
Imprisonment which may extend to 2 years or a fine or both
and whipping.
|
Applicable to both sexes.
Punishment as in the case of
unnatural offences referred to above.
|
12
|
There was no offence of grave sexual abuse.
|
Grave sexual abuse (sect. 365 B)
A mandatory minimum sentence
of 7 years’ imprisonment (not exceeding 20 years) and a fine and
compensation. Where the victim is under 18 years, the mandatory minimum
sentence is 10 years.
|
13
|
There was no offence of publication of material relating to sexual
offences.
|
Publication of material relating to sexual offences (sect.
365 C).
The offences are sexual harassment, incest, rape, grave
sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, procurement, unnatural offences or gross
indecency between persons where such publication may identify the person against
whom such offence is committed.
Imprisonment which may extend to 2
years or a fine, or both.
|
- In
December 1996, Her Excellency the President appointed a committee to draw up an
Action Plan for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
The committee examined the
subject from three broad perspectives, namely, legal reform, counselling and
awareness raising.
- In
order to implement some of the recommendations of the Presidential Committee as
accepted by Her Excellency, amendments were introduced
to the following
enactments in 1998:
Judicature Act, No. 2 of 1978;
Code
of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979;
Penal Code of
1889;
Evidence Laws of 1895.
A summary of the amendments as
contained in the amending legislation is given below.
2. Judicature (Amendment) Act, No. 27 of 1998
- The
purpose of this amendment is to dispense with the requirement of a non-summary
inquiry in the case of the offence of statutory
rape. In the case of the
offences of murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempted murder,
rape and certain offences
under the Offensive Weapons Act, there was the
requirement of a non-summary inquiry being conducted by a magistrate’s
court
preceding the filing of an indictment in the High Court. This often
becomes a protracted inquiry and is not conducive to the expeditious
conclusion
of the trial itself. It was, therefore, enacted that the requirement of
conducting a non-summary inquiry be dispensed
with in the case of statutory rape
(i.e. where the victim is under 16 years of age and consent to sexual
intercourse is immaterial).
While speedy trial would be in the interest of the
welfare of such a victim, such an amendment would also prevent a child from
being
exposed twice to a traumatic court procedure which a child of tender years
would find difficult to withstand and also help avoid
the adverse long-term
effects it could have on his/her emotional development.
3. Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, No. 28 of
1998
- Persons
arrested without a warrant cannot, in terms of section 37 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure Act, be detained in police custody
for more than 24 hours.
As regards persons arrested without a warrant in respect of child abuse, the Act
empowers a magistrate to
order the detention of such persons in police custody
for a period not exceeding three days for purposes
of
investigation. Such an order may be made upon a certificate being filed by a
police officer (not below the rank of Superintendent
of Police) to the effect
that such detention is necessary for purposes of investigation. Such special
provision was enacted to facilitate
the investigation process and assist its
speedy conclusion in the interest of child victims who are very often placed in
vulnerable
situations.
- This
amendment also contains provisions which require that cases of child abuse be
given priority as a measure of enhancing the right
of a child to protection. It
also prescribes a form for referring victims of child abuse to Institutes of
Care and Protection pending
trial. Prior to the amendment, there was no
prescribed form for this purpose and there were instances where even remand
warrants
were used. This situation was unsatisfactory since a victim of child
abuse then tends to be treated like an offender rather than
a victim.
4. Penal Code (Amendment) Act, No. 29 of 1998
- This
amendment prohibits the use of persons under 18 years for the following
purposes:
Begging;
Procuring persons for sexual
intercourse;
Trafficking in restricted articles.
- The
amendment also imposes a legal obligation on developers of films and photographs
to inform the police of indecent or obscene material
in relation to children
received by such persons for developing. Failure to do so attracts a jail term
which may extend to two years
and/or fines.
5. Evidence (Special Provisions) Act, No. 32 of 1999
- This
Act, passed by Parliament on 7 July 1999, enhances the right of child
victims of abuse to protection. It permits, in child abuse
cases, the reception
of videotaped evidence of the preliminary interview with a child victim or
witness, which, in addition to protecting
the child, also prevents cases being
prejudiced by lapses of memory.
III. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Family environment
- Changes
in the lifestyles of Sri Lankan families have profoundly affected the
manner of providing parental guidance and fulfilment of parental
responsibilities.
During the period under review, the structure and functions
of the family as a basic social unit have undergone significant changes.
The
extended family is being replaced by the nuclear family consisting of father,
mother and unmarried children. The extended family,
which was part of Sri
Lankan tradition, particularly in the rural areas, is changing, mainly
due to social factors such as urbanization, higher levels of education,
economic hardship of young couples which makes the maintenance of the extended
family
a heavy burden, and internal mobility of the population. There are also
now more truncated, nuclear families or singleparent families,
which comprise
mother and children or father and children or widows living alone. Such family
units probably amount to a considerable
number, although exact figures are not
available. There are many reasons for their existence. One cause is the
migration of young
married women to the Middle East for employment since the
early 1980s. These women are usually between the ages of 20 to 35 years.
The number of women migrant workers abroad is estimated at 600,000800,000.
Exact numbers are not known as many go abroad through
unregistered job agencies,
in spite of the steps taken by the Foreign Employment Bureau. There is
anecdotal evidence of alcoholism,
drug abuse and child abuse which subject the
truncated nuclear families to traumatic experiences. Another reason for the
rising
number of families experiencing trauma is the conflict in the country and
the increasing numbers of war widows.
- Unfortunately,
there is a dearth of reliable data on the changing patterns of the
Sri Lankan family. However, case studies done by ethnographic
researchers, anecdotal evidence and incidents reported to relief distribution
authorities provide data from which inferences can be drawn regarding the
changing patterns among families. Numbers receiving assistance
as displaced
families from the World Food Programme increased from 48,194 in 1994 to 54,100
in 1998.
- The
Government recognizes the importance of the family as the basic social unit for
the growth and development of children. The Government
uses social welfare
programmes as one of the ways for strengthening the family. Such an
intervention is provided by the Samurdhi (Prosperity) programme. It is
the major poverty alleviation programme the Government
introduced in 1995. The programme supports
1,973,183 lowincome
families and its annual expenditure is 8 billion rupees. The programme is
aimed at implementing familybased
economic development projects identified on
the basis of specific needs, skills, assets and other capacities of each family.
Youth
are given a special place in the projects and both economic development
and social welfare activities are encouraged through cooperative
and joint
ventures. The Samurdhi programme ensures a reliable means of earning an
income by providing technical know-how, capital requirements, advisory services,
marketing facilities and managerial skills for the benefit of poor families. In
addition, there are a few other smallscale programmes
to provide a safety net
for needy families.
- Over
the last few years, there have been efforts targeted at mothers to promote
better parenting. Programmes focused on health and
nutrition issues are
implemented by the Family Health Workers under the Ministry of Health to promote
better parenting. Better parenting
is also promoted by the Children’s
Secretariat and communitybased NGOs through their early childhood care and
development (ECCD)
programmes. These programmes indicate that there is a trend
for young fathers to be more involved in the care of their
children.
B. Alternative care
- Despite
the assistance extended to strengthen and prevent disintegration of families as
social units through welfare programmes of
the Government, a considerable number
of children are separated from families due to family dysfunctions.
These children have become destitute and unprotected, directly due to their
separation from their families. Abject poverty, loss
of breadwinners, family
disputes and separation and abandonment are some of the reasons why many
children seek refuge in institutions
that provide relief to children in
distress. Children in conflict with the law, although relatively few in number,
also require
institutional care.
- The
Children’s and Young Person’s Ordinance, No. 48 of 1939, which
provided for the principal legislative, judicial and
administrative measures,
has now been amended.
C. Institutional care
- The
Department of Probation and Childcare Services continues to be the central
agency for providing institutional care as a temporary
measure to unprotected
children who cannot otherwise be provided with care and protection within the
family. Such children are placed
in State-managed homes and homes registered
with the Government. Some are managed by voluntary organizations with
assistance from
the Government. The Government has a State Receiving Home in
each of the eight provinces. Details of admission of children to these
homes
are given in table 1.
Table 1. Children in State homes
|
No. of children
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
318 216 209 239 297
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
1. Source - Department of Social Services.
2. Source - Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Annual Report, 1998.
- The
State Receiving Homes function as transit centres and children admitted to them
are kept till they are considered physically and
mentally fit and are ready for
suitable placement elsewhere.
- Children
who need temporary institutional care are placed in the homes usually run by
voluntary organizations (Voluntary Children’s
Homes). Initially, such
placements are for a period of three years. During that period children are
given formal education and
their family situation is periodically monitored to
assess the possibility of reintegrating them with their families. The
following
details show the number of children placed in Voluntary
Children’s Homes.
Table 2. Children in Voluntary Children’s Homes
|
No. of children
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
6 562 6 325 6 717 7 001 8 037
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
- Parents
and guardians are encouraged to take their children home from these centres
whenever possible in order to help avoid a situation
in which prolonged
institutionalization would have a negative impact on them. However, it has been
observed that there is an increase
in the number of children seeking admission
to such institutions.
D. Children of migrant women
- Information
collected through law enforcement authorities and community workers indicates
that an increasing number of girl children
of migrant women remain unprotected
and become victims of abuse. This is a direct result of the absence of maternal
protection.
These children need temporary institutional care until their
mothers return. In view of this demand, the Government decided in
1996 to
establish hostels for such children. The construction of two hostel complexes,
one in the Southern Province and the other
in the North-Western Province, is
nearing completion. Each hostel can accommodate 100 children.
E. Children in conflict with the law
- As
shown below in tables 3-5, the number of children who were in conflict with the
law and who were provided with institutional care
during the period under
consideration does not indicate a downward trend. The Government provided
improved institutional care facilities
for those who were placed in remand
homes, detention homes and correctional institutions. Children in the
institutions referred
to were provided with both formal education and vocational
training during their stay in the centres.
Table 3. Children in remand homes
|
No. of children
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
1 110 1 654 1 379 1 652 1 711
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
- There
is only one detention centre meant for both boys and girls from 5 to 16 years of
age, which is located in the Southern Province.
Table 4. Children in detention centres
|
No. of children
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
138 165 109 95 141
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
- Four
certified schools, one for girls and three for boys, and one approved school
continue to provide correctional services to children
referred to them by courts
of law. The number of children admitted during the relevant period is given in
table 5.
Table 5. Children in correctional institutions
|
No. of children
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
293 250 205 212 219
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
F. Adoption
- Adoption
of children monitored by the Commissioner of Probation and Childcare has been
recognized and encouraged as the next best
alternative to a child’s own
family. Childless families and families with only one child are given
preference in adoption
procedures. The demand for children for adoption is high
among middle-aged married couples who have not been able to have children
of
their own. However, local applicants tend to be particular in the selection of
children for adoption. A child’s health,
complexion and birth time are
some of the criteria used in the selection. The privacy of the adoption process
is a primary consideration
for almost all applicants, as adopted children are
not recognized as being equal to others in society. These criteria are not
followed
by foreign nationals who apply for adoption. Table 6 shows the number
of children adopted by locals and foreign nationals during
the period 1994-1998.
Table 6. Adoptions
|
Local adoption
|
Foreign adoption
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
549 540 613 618 623
|
194 105 37 25 32
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
G. Foster parents’ schemes
- There
are several foster parents’ schemes run by both the Government and NGOs.
These mainly focus on financial support for
children, particularly to enable
them to pursue education while living with their parents or guardians. The
programmes are implemented
by NGOs. They are small in scale. Information is
not available to assess the actual number of beneficiaries. The Government has
two programmes, namely the Sevana Sarana Foster Parents Scheme and the Foster
Parents Programme of the Department of Probation and
Childcare Services. The
Sevana Sarana programme is funded by donations from foster
families. Children between 5 and 15 years of age are entitled to benefits
from
the programme. Children are supported for a period of five years with a minimum
grant of Rs 100 a month. The departmental
programme has the
same operational procedure but grants come from the Government and
well-wishers. The minimum monthly payment to a child is Rs 200
and each child
is entitled to receive assistance for a period of three years. Children of poor
families benefit from these programmes
to a great extent. The following table
gives details of the two programmes.
Table 7. Sevana Sarana Foster Parents’ Scheme
|
No. of children
|
Amount paid (Rs)
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
13 786 15 321 15 766 15 882 15 994
|
17 748 000 18 385 200 18 919 200 19 058 400 22
909 536
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
Table 8. The Foster Parents’ Programme of the
Department
of Probation and Childcare Services
|
No. of children
|
Amount paid (Rs)
|
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
|
480 509 469 441 420
|
1 142 200 1 209 314 1 161 226 1 103 770 1 165
000
|
Source: The Department of Probation and Childcare
Services.
- The
Foster Parents’ Programme functions as a safety net for needy children,
providing financial support for them to remain with
their parents/guardians and
emphasizing the need for them to continue with their education.
IV. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Health status of infants and pre-school children
- Sri
Lankan newborns have had an increasing opportunity to survive as evidenced by
the continuation of a decline in both infant and
under-five mortality rates
observed during the past several decades. In 1995, the infant mortality rate
was 16.5 per 1,000 live
births and the neonatal mortality rate was 12.9 per
1,000. Factors contributing to this decline include a high level of
institutional
deliveries with trained care (92 per cent of all births), access
to emergency obstetric care and referral facilities, and the network
of maternal
and child health (MCH) clinics and family health workers who provide antenatal
care services. The child mortality rate
in 1995 was 4.3 per 1,000 under-five
population. Programmes such as universal child immunization (UCI) and oral
rehydration therapy
(ORT) continued to be successful, contributing to a decline
in the
number of deaths of children under 5 years of age. However, low birth weight
is a persistent phenomenon caused by maternal undernutrition,
particularly
anaemia and inadequate weight gain in pregnancy. According to birth weight
surveillance data from medical institutions,
17.6 per cent of babies are
born with low birth weight (less than 2.5 kg).
B. Achievements
- Much
progress has been achieved in the control of most communicable diseases.
In 1996, the percentage of infants immunized with BCG (against
tuberculosis) was 89.1,
with DPT3 (against diphtheria) 91.7, with OPV3
(polio) 91.7, and against measles, 89.5.
The percentage of mothers who
received the TT2 (tetanus) and booster was 83.7. Sri Lanka has not had a
confirmed case of polio since
1993 and has reached a stage close to the goal of
polio eradication. All vaccines for immunization are imported by the Government
and provided free to children. Deaths of children from diarrhoeal diseases have
drastically declined due to the wide practice of
ORT and the free availability
and use of the local oral rehydration salts. However, acute respiratory
illnesses (ARI) still remain
a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Nearly
half of childhood deaths are related to respiratory causes. Other infections
affecting children include malaria, dengue haemorrhagic fever and Japanese B
encephalitis.
C. State interventions
- The
Government, while sustaining programmes critical for child health such as
immunization and ORT, is focusing on the implementation
of national programmes
on the control of ARI. This is implemented by the Epidemiological Unit of the
Ministry of Health in collaboration
with provincial and district-level primary
health-care staff. A principal component of the programme is the training of
all primary
health-care staff in the control of ARI and health education of
mothers.
- Malaria
has been highlighted as a serious disease affecting children, particularly in
the north and the east where a conflict situation
exists. The conflict has
contributed to the spread of malaria due to a breakdown of control measures.
One of the strategies being
planned and which is currently in the process of
being implemented is the use of bed nets impregnated with repellents for
pregnant
mothers and children, who are a specially vulnerable group of the
population.
- The
spread of dengue haemorrhagic fever has been of concern, particularly as it has
caused several deaths in recent times. Seventy-four
per cent of those affected
by this disease are under the age of 14 years. Control measures are being
implemented to destroy the
breeding places of the mosquito transmitting the
disease, but public cooperation is needed to make the control measures more
effective.
- Since
Japanese B encephalitis affects 36.4 per cent of children under 10 years, the
Government imports anti-Japanese B encephalitis
vaccine and provides it free to
children in the target age group in areas with a high incidence of the disease.
Immunization begins
just before the outbreak of the disease predicted through
surveillance data.
- The
Government has also made a policy decision to provide rubella vaccine for
schoolgirls (who are prospective mothers) as a strategy
to control German
measles and thereby prevent congenital deformities.
D. Malnutrition
- The
prevalence of malnutrition among infants and young children has been a
persistent problem. This includes stunting, wasting, being
underweight, as well
as having micronutrient deficiencies, particularly of vitamin A, iron and
iodine. According to a 1994 survey
of threemonth-old infants conducted by the
Ministry of Policy Planning and National Integration, 21 per cent were stunted,
13 per
cent were wasted and 34 per cent were underweight. There was no reported
gender disparity, although there were inter- and intra-provincial
and district
disparities.
- The
percentage of schoolchildren suffering from goitre ranges from 6.5 to 30.2 in
different areas of the country. The percentage
of pregnant women who suffer
from mild, moderate and severe iron deficiency leading to anaemia is 65. Though
iron supplements are
provided free through MCH clinics, there are dietary
inadequacies due to poverty. Vitamin A deficiency has now been proved to be
a
significant problem of public health. Since malnutrition has a multifactorial
basis, which includes household food security, home
level care, control of
infection, as well as the underlying problems of poverty, strategies to reduce
malnutrition will take time.
The Government is implementing interventions both
through the health sector as well as other relevant ministries and departments.
Recently, a presidential task force was appointed to improve coordination and
facilitate the convergence of nutrition-related interventions.
- The
Government has launched a successful programme to universalize the consumption
of iodized salt to combat iodine deficiency disorders.
There is a policy that
all salt should be iodized. Mothers are given routine oral iron folate
supplementation through MCH clinics,
as iron-deficiency anaemia has been
particularly high during pregnancy. The extent of anaemia in infants and
pre-school children
is yet to be determined. The extent of vitamin A deficiency
was not determined until recently. A study has been completed by the
Medical
Research Institute of the Ministry of Health which confirms its prevalence as a
public health problem. Strategies and interventions
are being formulated at
present to address vitamin A deficiency.
- There
has been a policy decision to fulfil the right of all infants to breast milk as
it has relevance to nutritional well-being and
the incidence of infections.
Breastfeeding practices continue to be threatened by infant formula and
full-cream milk companies which
use unethical advertising strategies to promote
their products to the detriment of the nutritional status of infants and
pre-school
children. The Government has taken steps to review the national code
for the promotion of breastfeeding and marketing of breast
milk substitutes and
related products with a view to tightening loopholes and improving the
monitoring aspects. The Government also
embarked on the promotion of
breastfeeding in all government hospitals with maternity services through an
intervention known as the
Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. A monitoring
system has also been established.
E. Health status of older children and adolescents
- There
is increasing recognition of the importance of adolescent health by the Ministry
of Health, and many programmes are being implemented
to promote healthy
lifestyles. Critical concerns include HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), tobacco, alcohol and
drug use. The National HIV/AIDS Campaign
has targeted young children and adolescents as a special group to be enlightened
on the
subject. This includes the establishment of School Health Clubs through
the Health Education Bureau of the Ministry of Health as
well as introduction of
HIV/AIDS messages into the curriculum, textbooks and supplementary readers as
well as teacher training programmes.
Substance abuse was recognized by the
Government as a special area of concern and a presidential task force was
established to deal
with it. Following its recommendations, all tobacco and
alcohol advertisements were banned, particularly through the mass media.
There
are increasing numbers of local NGOs collaborating with the Government in the
prevention and control of substance abuse among
schoolchildren and adolescents.
The extent of teenage pregnancies is not known, although there is some anecdotal
evidence to suggest
that it is a potential problem area among disadvantaged
families. This also has relevance to the practice of abortions which is
illegal
in Sri Lanka.
- An
important component of education reform is the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
This is being introduced to schools under Life
Skills
Programmes.
- There
is a growing concern about the high rate of deaths due to violence and suicide,
particularly among young people. According
to 1995 Ministry of Health data, of
the total number in that category, 23 per cent of deaths were due to suicides,
25 per cent to
homicides or injuries, and a further 13 per cent to other forms
of violence.
- A
Presidential Task Force on Suicides was set up and its recommendations are being
implemented. They include reducing access to insecticides
(which is used by
youths to commit suicide) as well as introducing life skills to prevent
youngsters from resorting to suicide as
the only solution to their problems.
Programmes are being implemented now through schools to assist young children
and youths to
resolve problems more rationally without giving in to impulses.
- There
is also a presidential task force set up to prevent and control the use of
alcohol, drugs and tobacco. The measures taken by
the task force include the
introduction of a ban on the advertising and promotion of sales of these
products. This is a measure
designed to counteract the efforts of the tobacco
industry which targets young people and children.
F. Women’s health
- Women’s
health, particularly maternal health, has been an area of priority concern for
several decades. Sri Lanka, over the
past two decades, has developed a
widespread maternal
and child health infrastructure through which
antenatal and post-natal services are provided at home and at the institutional
level.
Family health workers provide maternal care at peripheral level, and
there is a well-developed system of referral service for secondary
and tertiary
care.
Over 86.3 per cent of deliveries take place in government institutions free
of charge and
92 per cent of mothers receive trained care at delivery.
There are 445 institutions which provide such services and there has been
a
steady decline in maternal mortality even in rural areas of the country.
G. Access to health care
- There
is access to free health care for all pregnant mothers. Over the past several
years maternal health has been preserved through
the Safe Motherhood Programme
which aims at ensuring the right of every woman to a safe pregnancy and
delivery. It also includes
the care of the newborn. This is particularly
relevant to Sri Lanka where the major proportion of infant deaths occur during
the
neonatal period, particularly in the first week of life. At present the
maternal mortality rate is 2.4 per 10,000 live births (1995).
Over 80 per cent
of infants are registered by Family Health Workers and 90 per cent of children
are brought to MCH clinics for immunization.
One health issue that still needs
to be effectively dealt with is maternal undernutrition, particularly inadequate
weight gain in
pregnancy and anaemia.
- Children
have easy access to free primary health-care services established by the
Ministry of Health. Services are offered free of charge through a
network of 17,000 MCH clinics to 0- to 5yearolds, and through the
School of
Health Services for older children. The smallest health institution, which is a
peripheral unit, usually has a paediatric
ward. There are over 6,000 Family
Health Workers who register all pregnant women and infants in their areas, each
covering a population
of approximately 3,000-4,000. They maintain birth and
immunization registers for each child. Each child is also provided with a
child
health development chart. This not only monitors weight for age, but
also other health factors such as immunization status. Health workers, although
aware
of child rights regarding health, have yet to receive organized training
on the subject.
H. Access to reproductive health
- A
programme has been started recently to provide more accurate and explicit
information to adolescents on reproductive health, including
HIV/AIDS and
sexuality. It is being carried out by the Curriculum Development Unit of the
National Institute of Education through
NGOs and State agencies such as the Sri
Lanka Family Planning Association and through the Health Education Bureau of the
Ministry
of Health. Educational materials in local languages have been produced
and distributed free to adolescents and youth. However,
they have yet to come
up with an organized network of counselling services on reproductive health to
address the needs of adolescents
and youth. At present only a few NGOs conduct
such programmes and those are mainly in urban areas, such as Colombo. There are
deep-rooted
cultural and traditional factors and beliefs which act as barriers
to setting up such systems, including a reluctance on the part
of people to
communicate clear messages related to sexuality. In recent times some NGOs and
the media have shown an interest in
awareness creation on this issue, but there
are cultural barriers which preclude the use of explicit messages, particularly
on HIV/AIDS
prevention.
I. Disabled children
- The
Government is implementing a programme of community-based rehabilitation which
includes children. At present, these activities
are implemented only in a few
areas due to financial resource constraints. There are, however, plans to
extend such activities island
wide. The programme is implemented through the
Ministry of Social Services, in collaboration with provincial and district
authorities.
- Mentally
and physically retarded children also have access to schools where special
education services are available. However, as
such schools are limited, some
children are unable to benefit from special education. It is also not possible
to send such children
to regular schools which have no special education
facilities.
V. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. National policies
- National
policies on education are underpinned by the Constitution and legislative
enactments. The right to education is enshrined in the Constitution. Article
27 (2) of the Constitution commits the State to “complete eradication of
illiteracy and assurance to all persons of the right to universal and equal
access
to education at all levels”.
- The
mother tongue (Sinhala/Tamil) was adopted as the language of instruction in
schools progressively from 1945 to 1960 with the recognition
of the right of a
child to be taught his/her religion along with a protective conscience clause.
The provision of free tuition,
free textbooks for children in State and
State-assisted schools, and the provision of free midday meals and subsidized
transport
for children in State schools have considerably lessened the burden of
the cost of education on parents.
- The
distribution of schools by language of instruction reflects the outcome of the
above policies adopted during the postindependence
period: 72.1 per cent and
20.7 per cent of the State schools provide instruction in Sinhala and Tamil,
respectively. The Muslim
schools, amounting to 7.2 per cent of schools, teach
in Tamil; some of the Muslim schools (less than 1 per cent) also have
Sinhala
classes. Of the 10,093 schools in the country, 96.6 per cent are
financed and administered by the State. Less than 3 per cent of
the
school-going population are in private schools. Though the achievements in the
areas of universal primary education, literacy
and equal opportunity are
significant, there are still intra-district disparities caused by a multiplicity
of factors. These factors
include poverty, social costs of structural
adjustment programmes, and the drain of human and material resources caused by
the ethnic
conflict.
B. Educational reforms
- A
National Education Commission (NEC) was appointed in 1991 to advise the
President and the Government on educational policy. The
Commission studied the
findings of a number of studies conducted by a number of local and foreign
organizations as well as the representations
made by eminent educationists and
teachers’ unions in the country. One of the studies considered by the
Commission was on
“Learning Achievements” by UNICEF/UNESCO.
NEC published its proposals with a view to improving the quality of
education. The President appointed three task forces to draw
up plans for the
implementation of the reform proposals.
The Task Force on General Education
submitted its recommendations in 1997. The recommendations focus
on:
1. Implementation of new-style GCE Advanced Level
courses.
2. Reorganization of schools.
3. Equality of
opportunity for primary education.
4. Strengthening opportunities for
teaching English in schools and facilitating access
to
knowledge.
5. Continuous assessments of student
achievement.
6. Career guidance and counselling.
7. Compulsory
education.
8. Teacher education.
9. Quality improvement in
education.
- The
implementation of these reforms on a pilot scale commenced in one district in
1997. The importance attached to the implementation
of reforms is evidenced by
the fact that the Government declared the year 1997 as the year of
“Education Reforms”.
The year 1999 witnessed the commencement of
implementation of the reforms on an island-wide scale.
C. Introduction of compulsory education legislation
- Though
the Education Ordinance provided for the introduction of regulations for making
education compulsory for children between specified
age limits, this provision
was not brought into operation until recently. The impact of the ratification
of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child by the Government and the
recommendations made by the President’s Task Force referred to earlier
culminated
in the introduction of the compulsory school attendance regulation in
1988. The compulsory attendance regulations were promulgated
by a Gazette
Notification under the name and authority of the Minister of Education and
Higher Education. According to the Gazette
Notification every parent is
required to send his/her child to a school if the child is not less than 5 and
not more than 14 years.
Every parent contravening the regulation will be
guilty of an offence. It is envisaged that the upper age limit will
eventually be extended to 16 years. Two committees have been appointed in
each local
administrative unit to ensure the implementation of compulsory
attendance regulations.
- Non-attendance
at school is due to a variety of factors, which include a lack of family
resources, childcare responsibility of parents,
and administrative procedures
with regard to the admission of children to schools. Measures have been
proposed to address these
problems.
As a transitional measure, the
non-formal literacy centres of the Ministry of Education are being strengthened
to provide a bridge
to the formal education system. Enforcement of compulsory
education will eliminate early dropouts and reduce the incidence of child
labour
and sexual exploitation.
D. Early childhood development and pre-schools
- For
the first time, early childhood development (ECD) was accorded priority in the
new education reforms. A Presidential task force
was established to deal with
this subject and a national resource group was set up to strengthen ECD
activities. These would be
undertaken both through pre-school as well as
home-based programmes. There are many NGOs implementing home-based
programmes.
- The
provision of pre-school education facilities is the responsibility of the
provincial education authorities. The central Government
has assumed
responsibility for regulating standards, training teachers, developing curricula
and learning-teaching materials for
pre-school teachers, mothers and other
caregivers, and monitoring various processes. Local government councils and
several NGOs
have shown interest in the subject and are planning and developing
programmes. The Open University of Sri Lanka started a training
course for
teachers engaged in pre-school education in August 1999.
E. Current situation
- Despite
positive achievements over the years, progress in education, particularly the
quality aspects, have been adversely affected
by poverty, the impact of
structural adjustment programmes, and the political and ethnic violence that
prevails in the country.
In consequence urban-rural and inter-district
disparities still continue.
- Equality
in educational opportunities continues to be limited by the interplay of
socioeconomic backwardness of parents, poor quality
of school facilities and low
performance of pupils in deprived areas. As indicated earlier, the widest
disparities are at the senior
secondary level where there is a pronounced urban
bias. Over 40 per cent of the schools provide only primary education while 15
per cent of schools are small one or twoteacher schools.
- Enrolment
rates reached a plateau in the 1980s. Urban-rural disparities are minimal in
terms of participation and gender disparities
hardly exist. In fact, more boys
tend to drop out than girls, except in small rural Muslim communities and on the
plantations, which
have had a history of educational backwardness as a sector.
Consequently, there are more girls than boys in senior secondary classes
(57 per
cent in grades 12 and 13). Nonschool-going rates are relatively high in
lowincome urban neighbourhoods, economically backward
villages and
plantations.
- Performance
in education tends to reflect quality problems related to both teachers and
equipment. Studies have indicated that performance
levels in language and
number are low at the end of the primary level (grade 5). There are wide
district-wide disparities in performance
at grade 5 and GCE (“O”
Level) examinations. Gender disparities are minuscule at entry competency level
at grade 1,
grade 5 and grade 11 (GCE “O” Level).
- There
is a teaching force of around 190,000 teachers, of whom 68 per cent are women.
In the early 1990s there was a policy decision
to recruit large numbers of
untrained teachers. The recruitment of large numbers of untrained teachers and
the factors referred
to earlier have contributed to the persistence of quality
issues. As a result, about 30 per cent of teachers had to be trained through
distance education modes, which were not up to standard.
F. Corporal punishment
- The
situation with regard to corporal punishment in schools is described in some
detail above. Much effort has been exercised by
NMC to promote the abolition of
corporal punishment in schools. This issue has also been taken up by NCPA to
add weight to the current
advocacy by NMC of nonrecourse to corporal
punishment.
G. Literacy
- Sri
Lanka has a relatively high literacy rate. The Demographic Survey of 1994 gives
an overall literacy rate of 90.1 per cent (92.6
per cent male literacy and 87.9
per cent female literacy). Urban and rural literacy rates are 93.2 per cent and
89.5 per cent respectively.
Gender disparities have been eliminated in the
younger age groups. The male population has over 80 per cent literacy, but the
literacy
rate of women over 60 years of age ranges between 57 per cent
and 70 per cent among the districts.
H. Technical and vocational education
- The
common exit points from the school system are grades 5, 8, 11 and 13. Some of
the school leavers are dropouts who leave school
mainly due to socio-economic
circumstances. School-leavers and school dropouts seek entry to vocational
training centres or the
labour market. The available vocational training
facilities are sufficient to cater for the needs of only about 50 per cent of
the
school-leavers. The Presidential Task Force on Technical and Vocational
Education and the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission
are currently
addressing the problem. Training centres are being opened and the private
sector has pledged its support to them.
I. Special education
- Special
education is provided for children suffering from mental and physical
impairments. The State has two approaches for dealing
with disabled
children:
(a) Children with minor disabilities are integrated
within the general education system;
(b) Special units and schools cater
for those who need special treatment. Efforts are being made currently by the
Ministry of Social
Services to facilitate the entry of these students into the
labour market.
J. Resource allocation
- Education
provided in State institutions is financed almost wholly by allocations/grants
provided by the central Government. Educational
expenditure as a proportion of
GDP declined from 4.5 per cent in 1960 to 2.3 per cent in the mid1980s as a
result of structural adjustment
programmes. However, it has now increased to
2.9 per cent of GDP (current rate).
K. Leisure, recreation and cultural activity
- Children
have access to leisure and recreation both at home and at school. However, most
rural children, particularly those in poverty
groups, assist their families in
economic activities after school.
- The
education system that currently prevails is heavily exam oriented. Most
children now spend their out-of-school hours in private
tuition classes to have
a “head start” in a competitive environment. This situation
prevails at all levels, from primary
to senior secondary. Parents from both
rural and urban families tend to foster this competitiveness in
children.
- Studies
indicate that co-curricular activities tend to receive low priority in many
schools due to lack of facilities and/or time.
Non-availability of sufficient
time could partly be the result of the “exam culture”. Sports is
perhaps the most popular
activity with both boys and girls. Dance, drama and
art are also promoted in many schools. However, the goals of parents are
academically
oriented and their attitudes reflect a diminished enthusiasm in
relation to cocurricular activities.
- Generally,
at home children spend their leisure time watching television or listening to
the radio.
VI. SPECIAL PROTECTION
MEASURES[*]
Children affected by terrorism
A. Background
- The
estimated 14,000strong Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) employs adults
and children, men and women, in its terrorist campaign
for a separate
mono-ethnic State covering the Northern and the Eastern Provinces of the island.
International intelligence sources
have assessed LTTE as the deadliest terrorist
group in the world today. Their violent campaign has directly and indirectly
affected
the lives of children, particularly those living in the Northern and
the Eastern Provinces. It also impacts on children living in
threatened
villages of the districts of Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Children
living even in the southern areas
have also been affected when there were incidents of terrorist bombing
targeting civilians. An estimated population of about 2 million
is
affected in different ways by this terrorist campaign. Many children have been
killed, disabled and orphaned; more have been
subjected to the trauma of
witnessing extreme forms of brutality and violence unleashed by terrorism.
Being rendered homeless or
separated from families is often compounded by grief
at the loss of loved ones. Children of all ethnic communities - Sinhala, Tamil
and Muslim - have been affected. The acts of terrorism carried out by LTTE and
their continued refusal to discuss a political solution
other than a mono-ethnic
separate State are the chief barriers to future progress in human
development.
- Several
categories of children are directly affected. These include child combatants
between the ages of 9 and 18 who have been forcibly
recruited by LTTE, children
of displaced families or those who witness and experience violence, and children
of armed forces personnel
killed in action. In the light of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, the plight of all children affected by the conflict
needs to be addressed.
- Sri
Lanka’s generally favourable achievements in the fields of health and
education are being jeopardized by a “regime”
of terror inflicted on
the Vanni (northern) area by LTTE in order to mobilize pockets of the population
for its violent campaign.
- In
spite of the financial and other resource constraints, and the fact that LTTE
siphons away a substantial part of the free government
supplies for its cadres,
the Government has continued to provide basic food rations, free health services
and education to affected
families, to the extent possible. The Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons, Mr.
Francis
Deng, who was invited by the Government of Sri Lanka to visit Sri Lanka
described this situation as follows:
“On the whole, there is a general positive assessment regarding the
Government’s response to the problem of internally
displaced persons. The
Government has assumed full responsibility for its displaced and returnee
population and works closely with
international agencies and organizations.
Relief assistance is considered to reach most groups satisfactorily. Sri Lanka
presents
the unusual situation of a central Government providing relief aid to
persons under the control of the main opposition group. In
a world replete with
examples of Governments and rebel groups using food as a weapon against civilian
populations, the situation
in Sri Lanka is one that deserves closer attention if
not more publicity as an important precedent” (E/CN.4/1994/44/Add.1,
para. 67).
- A
multi-billionrupee effort is mounted by the Government each year to sustain this
supply effort. The International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World
Food Programme (WFP) and
NGOs present in the area assist in the distribution of
the government supplies.
- The
free health services and education through State-run health facilities and
schools continue to be provided in the areas affected
by the conflict. Salaries
and other allowances to personnel employed in the health and education sectors
are being paid by the Government.
- Most
of the areas affected have a health, education and administrative infrastructure
through which basic services have been delivered
without interruption. The
administrative functions of the Government are carried out by Government Agents
(GAs) at the District
level and by Assistant Government Agents (AGAs) at the
Division level. Dry rations and relief supplies are provided to displaced
families through the GAs and AGAs. Social Services officers are also involved
in the provision of services, particularly to those
in welfare camps. The GAs
act as focal points for the coordination of relief supplies and basic services.
International agencies
and NGOs actively participate in and use the
Government’s administrative infrastructure to extend their services to the
affected
areas. Organizations thus involved are ICRC, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP,
Medecins sans frontières, Oxfam, Care, Save the Children,
Sarvodaya and
many others.
B. International and domestic law
- Sri
Lanka is painfully aware of the fact that violence and terrorism violate the
rights of the child - the right to life, the right
to be with family and
community, the right to health, the right to the development of personality and
the right to be nurtured and
protected. The country is committed to the
adoption of all measures within its means to ensure that the rights of citizens
enshrined
in its Constitution are protected. The new Constitution being
proposed incorporates even stronger provisions, directly deriving from the
provisions of the Convention. On the particular
issue of incorporating the
elements of the Convention and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights in the
new Constitution, there is absolute bipartisan
consensus among all the legislators.
- The
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child relate
to humane treatment of persons taking no part
in armed hostilities and to the
care of the wounded and the sick. The Government of Sri Lanka has taken all
possible measures to
ensure these humanitarian standards, even under the most
extraordinary security conditions brought about by LTTE’s fanatic
suicide
bombings, indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian targets, hijacking
and fire bombing of civilian and cargo ships,
bombing of aircraft, etc. To
further ensure humanitarian standards, the Government of Sri Lanka has
voluntarily invited humanitarian
agencies like ICRC, MSF and UNHCR to function
freely on the sovereign territory of Sri Lanka. When conducting essential
counter-insurgency
activity, the armed forces are required to take into account
these humanitarian aspects. The United States Department of State report
on
human rights 1999 states the following on this:
“The fact the Government was planning an offence to open a land route
to Jaffna was widely publicized well before it began
allowing civilians time to
vacate the probable area of military operations. Civilian casualties were
reduced due to the relatively
slow and methodical manner in which the government
security forces pushed forward, enabling the relatively few civilians remaining
in the area to flee well in advance of troop movements. In addition, the
military issued warnings via public radio before commencing
major operations,
instructing civilians to congregate at safe zones around churches and temples.
In the past, the military has dropped
leaflets instructing civilians to avoid
LTTE instructions.”
- The
Machel report was well received by Sri Lanka and the country has committed
itself to implementing its recommendations. In fact,
many recommendations
contained in the report are already in the process of being implemented. The
invitation to the Special Representative
of the SecretaryGeneral on
Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, in mid1998 demonstrated the
Government’s commitment to
ensuring respect for international instruments
relating to rights, welfare and protection of children in armed conflict
(articles
38 and 39 of the Convention). However, commitments given by LTTE to
Mr. Otunnu were violated by that group soon after his departure
from Sri
Lanka.
- Sri
Lanka declared “Days of Tranquillity” for the immunization of
children in 1995, 1996 and 1997. This enabled children
living in these areas to
obtain oral polio vaccine. This was done in cooperation with
UNICEF.
- In
October 1998 a Presidential Task Force for Human Disaster Management was
established. It functions under the Presidential Secretariat
and is developing
policies, plans
and programmes to help families affected by
terrorism and violence. The primary focus of the Task Force is on the
rehabilitation
of people who have been psychologically traumatized and
distressed. In order to achieve this goal, the Task Force formed seven
subcommittees.
One deals with issues relevant to women and children. The
Subcommittee on Women and Children’s Issues addresses problems
that are
peculiar to war widows, orphans, wives and children of disabled personnel, women
in villages under threat by LTTE and internally
displaced families. This
subcommittee intends to measure the basic needs of women and children in welfare
centres and villages threatened
by war. It also assesses infant, child and
maternal morbidity, mortality, nutritional status, access to health care,
housing, water
and sanitation. Another subcommittee of the Task Force is
concerned with psychological issues. This subcommittee focuses on preimpact
and
post-impact issues and seeks to identify measures that will minimize the effects
of sustained psychological trauma. The subcommittee
also addresses the issues
of training of counsellors, emergency teams for rapid deployment, community
workers, social workers and
other volunteers, while developing programmes on
disaster management for schools, universities and other institutions.
- The
Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by Sri Lanka in 1991. The
Children Charter of Sri Lanka was adopted in 1992
based on the Convention. Both
these instruments reflect standards and norms for protecting children in
conditions of violence and
terrorism. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
and NMC play monitoring roles in assessing compliance. NCPA also has a mandate
to monitor and support the realization of the objectives of these
instruments.
- In
addition to the national action and compliance measures, Sri Lanka strongly
supported further international standard-setting in
the field of
children’s rights. The country played an active part in developing a
consensus that facilitated the adoption
by the General Assembly of the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
Children in Armed
Conflict. At the time of writing, Sri Lanka was in the
process of acceding to the Protocol.
C. Violation of domestic and international law by non-State
actors
- The
Government is in strict compliance with the Convention and the Optional Protocol
on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
However, the terror group
LTTE has continued the criminal practice of forcibly recruiting and using Tamil
children in combat, as
reported by Mr. Otunnu, international NGOs and local
Tamil NGOs such as the University Teachers for Human Rights.
- The
Government has addressed this situation on three
fronts:
(a) Mitigating humanitarian suffering engendered by
violence and terrorism through the provision of essential humanitarian services
and supplies through engaging international organizations and NGOs as described
above;
(b) Launching a process of negotiation towards
constitutional/political solutions to the root causes of violence and terrorism
through
new constitutional arrangements for selfgovernance/devolution of power
and the protection of minority rights;
(c) In the short term, taking
resolute national and international action to prevent and combat the criminal
practice of employing
children for war by the terror group LTTE.
- It
is in connection with the third strategy and the shortterm measures that the
Government of Sri Lanka would like to request the
Committee on the Rights
of the Child, in its capacity as the body monitoring compliance with both the
Convention and the Optional
Protocol, collectively to urge the States parties to
the Convention and the Protocol to take strong punitive action against LTTE
and
its front organizations if they operate on territories under the States
parties’ jurisdiction.
- It
is also requested that the Committee issue an appeal to the States parties to
declare LTTE as a criminal organization as they are
already guilty of a war
crime by their continued recruitment and employment of child soldiers in
violation of the “nonState
actors” obligations set out in article 4
of the Optional Protocol.
- Articles
4 and 6 of the Optional Protocol collectively oblige States parties to introduce
the necessary legislative and other measures
to prohibit and criminalize the
practice of recruitment of children by armed groups that are non-State actors.
LTTE’s prime
source of financing comes from abroad. The ability of these
States to take effective action against the fundraising activities of
LTTE has
been hampered, mainly by the absence of necessary domestic measures. The
Committee should therefore call upon States parties
to take all measures
required by articles 4 and 6, including the reviewing of their national
legislation, with a view to effective
implementation and enforcement of those
provisions of the Optional Protocol, thereby eliminating the abhorrent practice
of recruitment
of children in armed conflicts by armed
groups.
- The
European Parliament, in a resolution adopted on 18 May 2000,
urged:
“The Governments of the EU Member States to take steps to proscribe
organizations operating on their territory which continue
to provide financial
and other support to terrorist action in Sri Lanka, and in so doing, to relieve
the intimidation by the LTTE
of Tamil people living in third
countries.”
D. Child combatants
- Article
38 (2) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that States
parties should take all feasible measures to ensure
that persons who have not
attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities. Sri
Lanka has gone beyond this
article by insisting that all new recruits into the
armed forces should be over 18 years of age.
- Sri
Lanka’s authorities estimate that at least 60 per cent of LTTE fighters
are below the age of 18 years. Estimates of LTTE
cadres killed in combat
reveal that at least 40 per cent of the fighting force consist of
girls and boys between the ages of 9 and
18 years. Children have been recruited
as they are receptive to indoctrination fine-tuned to their level of mental
maturity, willing
to engage in high-risk operations, obedient, and can easily
use weapons such as M16s, AK47s and T-56s which are light in weight,
easy to
fire and maintain and require minimum training. Children are well known to be
used for both gathering intelligence and in
combat. They form the first wave of
suicide attacks carried out by LTTE against their targets. Children are used in
all activities
of armed combat except in leadership positions.
- Compared
to the year 1994, more information is now available on child combatants. The
nucleus of the so-called LTTE “Baby Brigade”
was first formed in
early 1984. A major drive to recruit children was first launched in October
1987 as an added force to fight
the 100,000strong Indian Peace Keeping
Force.
- It
is also estimated that one third of all LTTE recruits are females, who serve in
all units. Over the past several years, nearly
all suicide bombers engaged by
LTTE have been females.
- Originally,
the majority of child combatants between the ages of 10 to 16 years were from
Batticaloa, in the Eastern Province. However,
now there are more children from
Jaffna and the Vanni, in the Northern Province. The families of child
combatants are termed “Great
hero families” and receive special
status from the LTTE hierarchy. They pay no levies imposed by LTTE and receive
preferential
treatment. LTTE’s unwritten rule is that every family should
give a son or a daughter to the cause.
- A
typical unit of child combatants is trained for four months in the jungle. They
receive short haircuts to ensure that deserters
can be easily identified.
Parents have no access to their children during training.
- The
trained young fighters are prepared for battle by attacking unprotected or
weakly defended villages. In these attacks, LTTE child
combatants, armed with
automatic weapons, are guided by experienced fighters. The civilian targets
have no police or forward defence
lines for
protection. These groups are later deployed for attacks on army camps. To
gain greater strength and surprise, LTTE mixes “Black
Tigers”, who
are physically strong and psychologically mature and well trained, with the
“Baby Brigade”.
- From
late 1995 to mid-1996, LTTE has recruited and trained at least 2,000 persons,
largely from the displaced population in the north.
It has been estimated that
about 1,000 of these persons were between the ages of 12 and 18 years, and that
they have since been
dispersed among the fighting units. LTTE has established a
“Leopard Brigade”, which is composed of children drawn from
LTTEmanaged orphanages. LTTE regards this group as its most fierce fighting
source.
- Although
LTTE sends its fighters into battle with cyanide capsules strung around their
necks for committing suicide when taken as
captives or injured, the majority of
youngsters do not commit suicide when they are overpowered by the armed
forces.
E. Machel report
- Graça
Machel, in her 1996 report on the impact of armed conflict on children (A/51/306
and Add.1) has raised the plight of
the child combatants and has been a
strong international advocate against this practice. The Government gives high
priority to implementing
its recommendations. The Government has initiated
action both within the country as well as at
the international
level to advocate the elimination of the recruitment of children as combatants.
This issue was raised by the Sri
Lankan Foreign Minister at the fifty-second
session of the General Assembly in September 1997. He is at present
personally spearheading
a campaign against recruitment of children as
combatants, both within the country and at the international level.
- The
Government is planning a comprehensive programme not only to prevent recruitment
but also to help in the rehabilitation and social
integration of child
combatants. There are also plans to professionalize psychosocial support
training to be provided to former
child soldiers captured by or surrendering to
the armed forces. External assistance is being sought for this programme. At
present,
former child combatants are housed in centres run by the National Youth
Services Council.
F. Cooperation with the United Nations
- Mr.
Otunnu, who was invited to visit Sri Lanka in May 1998, was able to perceive the
plight of affected children in armed conflict
during his tour of the Northern
Province. The Government of Sri Lanka expressed willingness to implement a
national programme for
all children who are subjected to trauma, disabilities
and handicaps resulting from violence and terrorism. Mr. Otunnu met with
LTTE in the Vanni and several issues concerning the protection, rights and
welfare of children affected by the ongoing conflict were
raised. The following
commitments in relation to children in armed conflict were made by LTTE to Mr.
Otunnu during his visit to
Vanni:
(a) Participation and recruitment of children in hostilities - LTTE undertook
not to engage children below the age of 18 years in
combat and not to conscript
children below the age of 17 years. The LTTE leadership accepted that a
framework to monitor these commitments
should be put in
place;
(b) Freedom of movement for displaced people - LTTE made a
commitment not to impede the movement of displaced people to the
“cleared”
areas. Further, LTTE made a commitment not to impede the
displaced Muslim population returning to their homes and accepted that
a
framework to monitor this process should be introduced;
(c) Distribution
of humanitarian supplies - LTTE made a commitment not to interfere with the
distribution of humanitarian supplies
meant for the affected civilians and
accepted that a framework to monitor this process should be
enforced;
(d) Observing the Convention on the Rights of the Child - Mr.
Otunnu stressed the importance of all parties, including the non-State
sector,
to observe the Convention on the Rights of the Child and urged LTTE to make a
public commitment to respect the principles
and provisions of the Convention.
LTTE had indicated its readiness to let its cadres receive information and
instructions on the
provisions of the Convention;
(e) Targeting civilians
- LTTE agreed to review its strategies and tactics of targeting the civilian
population.
- LTTE,
despite the assurances given to the Special Representative, is continuing the
recruitment of children below 18 years as combatants.
This was clearly evident
on several occasions when the combatants surrendered or were killed in
confrontations with security forces.
The Government of Sri Lanka has brought
this situation to the notice of Mr. Otunnu several times since his last visit to
the country.
G. Humanitarian relief and assistance
- The
Government’s main institutional framework for the implementation of relief
and rehabilitation activities in the north and
east includes two principal
agencies of the Government, the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Authority of the
North (RRAN) and the
Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation. RRAN functions as a
central planning and coordinating body while implementation is undertaken
at
district level by local officials led by GAs responsible for each district. The
Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation adopts
a similar strategy for the Eastern
Province. It is linked with the official structure of the North-East Provincial
Council, which
is responsible for the implementation of
programmes.
- In
addition, the sectoral Ministries such as Health, Education and Social Services
provide services through their officials in the
affected districts. The
Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES) provides logistics, transport,
etc. for essential supplies
to the north.
- Others
involved in relief and rehabilitation include local and international NGOs and
United Nations agencies.
- The
Government has given the highest priority to the
following:
(a) The provision of humanitarian relief, such as
food and medical supplies, to the civilian population, including the displaced
persons;
(b) Coordination of transport of persons wishing to return to
Jaffna from Vanni, as well as the sick and the disabled to and from
Colombo for
treatment. Following the downing of the civilian flight by LTTE in late 1998,
the Government has made arrangements to
provide high-speed air-conditioned ships
with effect from April 2000, exclusively for passenger transport between
Trincomalee and
Jaffna;
(c) Long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation
of the peninsula by providing infrastructural facilities in the fields of
education,
health, agriculture, transport, roads, postal services, electricity,
water supply, etc. This is in order to provide long-term employment
opportunities for the youth and to rebuild the economy that was disrupted by the
conflict;
(d) Restoration of the functions of elected local government
bodies so that the administrative structure of the peninsula is fully
returned
to civilian authorities;
(e) Conduct of regular school examinations (GCE
“O” Level and GCE “A” Level) in the
“uncleared”
areas with the assistance of UNHCR.
- Despite
budgetary constraints, the Government of Sri Lanka has continued its commitment
to help conflict-affected families by providing
food, shelter and basic
amenities at a monthly cost of approximately Rs 200
million.
- The
Commissioner General of Essential Services provides food assistance in the form
of dry rations. All newly displaced persons are
provided with cooked meals
three days a week. Thereafter, if they are unable to return to their places of
residence they are granted
food stamps or dry rations.
- Reports
from GA Mullativu indicate a satisfactory improvement in agricultural
production-related targets in paddy, chillies, red onions,
cowpeas and
groundnuts. In districts such as Mannar farmers are given loans to promote
agricultural production.
- From
January to May 1998 the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment
purchased 997,076 kg of paddy at a cost of Rs 9.9 million
from the
“cleared” areas of Vavuniya district. However,
farmers in “uncleared” areas faced problems in marketing
their produce. They had a surplus of produce during the Maha season in
1997/98. According to GA Vavuniya, authorization of the
purchase of rice
as dry rations for displaced families since April 1998 immensely helped the
producers.
H. Education in conflict areas
- According
to the 1997 school census, there are 410 schools functioning in Jaffna, 84 in
Killinochchi, 87 in Mannar, 175 in Vavuniya
and 92 in Mullaitivu. Batticaloa
has 309 schools functioning, Ampara 397 and Trincomalee 341. In the Northern
Province 50 per cent
of the teachers are trained and 24 per cent
untrained; the rest are graduates. In the
Eastern Province 48 per cent are trained and
35.5 per cent
untrained. In the country as a whole, 50.4 per cent are trained and
22.6 per cent untrained, the balance being graduates.
- The
German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) has undertaken to rehabilitate
schools in the Jaffna district. GTZ rehabilitated
many schools in the affected
areas at a cost of Rs 75 million. The GTZ programme was not confined
to rehabilitating buildings and
improving the water supply, but also extended to
training in leadership skills, human development, and physical and mental health
care. It also included programmes that promote mine awareness and education in
children’s rights.
- RRAN
also contributed to the GTZ programmes. In 1999 RRAN provided
Rs 18.3 million to support GTZ projects.
- The
Northern Province has 848 schools with 265,120 students and 8,618 teachers. The
pupil:teacher ratio is 30:76. In the Eastern
Province, the number of schools is
947 and the number of students 351,375. The pupil:teacher ratio is 26:72 as
compared with the
national ratio of 22:96.
- The
Government has issued a circular to Regional Directors of Education to admit all
children of school-going age to the schools nearest
to welfare camps. Specific
instructions have been issued that children who have lost their birth
certificates due to displacement
should not be prevented from being admitted to
school.
- In
January 1996, the Government launched a scholarship programme with a provincial
grant for displaced children who have completed
their GCE “O” Level
in order to help them pursue higher studies.
- A
College of Education to train more teachers is expected to be established soon
in Jaffna. To overcome the shortage of teachers,
the Government recruited 1,060
unemployed graduates in July 1998 for schools in the Northern and Eastern
Provinces. Some schools
conduct double sessions. Play equipment and toys are
being distributed among them with special attention to
pre-schools.
- In
1997, the Government distributed material for school uniforms to all boys and
girls. Furthermore, 3 million copies of 211 textbooks
were distributed of
which 89 per cent were in Tamil. In 1998, the number of books distributed
increased to 3.2 million. However,
there are delays in the distribution in some
of the “uncleared” areas due to the prevailing security
reasons.
- Issues
in relation to education include school dropouts due to displacement and their
readmission to schools after their resettlement.
Non-formal education centres
need greater support to cater for such children. A more difficult problem to
resolve is that some
parents are not motivated to send their children to school
due to the stressful situation and their preoccupation with violence and
terrorism. Moreover, parents in “uncleared” areas have to cope with
the recruitment of their children by LTTE through
propaganda events conducted
inside school premises or in the vicinity of schools. Economic factors also
affect their capacity to
provide day-to-day school supplies necessary for
schooling.
- The
National Human Development Report 1998: Sri Lanka
states:
“Despite the hardships experienced in the North-Eastern Province, the
quality of education has remained roughly comparable
with the rest of the
country. The Northern Province has the second highest ratio of advanced
Type 1AB schools, next to the Western
Province. The proportion of students
passing the GCE (O/L) from the Northern Province has consistently been among the
three highest
in the country. The percentage of students passing the GCE (A/L)
has also been approximately equal to the national average.
“Education in the North-Eastern Province has been sustained due to the
strong commitment of the Government and the population
to investment in human
capital through education. Thus, despite the severely adverse conditions,
schooling has continued. Sometimes,
when buildings have been damaged, classes
are held in gardens and under trees. Also, the Government has taken special
measures to
support education in the conflict areas. For instance, the
Education Publications Department of the Ministry of Education has arranged
for
school textbooks to be delivered with the assistance of the military and NGOs to
schools located in territory controlled by the
LTTE. The Ministry of Education
and Higher Education, along with the provincial education authorities in the
North-Eastern Province,
has cooperated with the local population to sustain
educational activity in the conflict areas in the face of considerable
difficulty”
(pp. 61-62).
I. The health situation in affected areas
- There
is under-registration of births and deaths in the affected areas. According to
the data available, infant deaths per 10,000
live births in 1995 was 5.6 in
Jaffna, 5.2 in Vavuniya, 7.6 in Killinochchi, 6.8 in Mannar and 2.3 in
Mullativu in the Northern Province.
It was 7 in Trincomalee, 7.5
in Batticaloa and 4 in Ampara in the Eastern Province.
It was 19.1 in
Puttalam, 28 in Anuradhapura and 13.2 in Polonnaruwa. The average for
Sri
Lanka was 16.5 (1995).
- Infant
immunization coverage for diphtheria (DPT3) in 1997 was 84.3 per cent in
Jaffna, 90.6 for Killinochchi and 36.4 for Vavuniya
in the Northern
Province; 81.7 in Trincomalee, 86.6 in Ampara and 100 in Batticaloa in the
Eastern Province. It was 100 per cent
in Polonnaruwa, 98 in Anuradhapura and
100 in Puttalam.
- Malaria
is of major public health significance in the affected areas due to the
breakdown of control measures resulting from the security
situation.
According to reported data on the incidence of malaria, the Northern and
the Eastern Provinces account for approximately
56 per cent of the total
malaria cases detected. During 1997, 323 deaths due to malaria were reported,
of which 261 were in Mullativu
and Killinochchi. According to the AntiMalaria
Campaign, the number of malaria patients in the Jaffna district for the year
1999
has shown a decrease in comparison with the preceding
year.
- The
maternal mortality rate per 10,000 live births for 1995 was 3.0 for Jaffna, 13.9
for Killinochchi, 5.2 for Mannar, 0 for Mullativu
and 0 recorded for Vavuniya in
the Northern Province, 3.5 for Batticaloa, 3.4 for Ampara and 1.3 for
Trincomalee in the Eastern Province,
6.0 in Anuradhapura, 0 in
Polonnaruwa and 2.3 for Puttalam. The national average was
2.4.
- Hospital
beds per 1,000 population range from 2.2 in Jaffna to 1.9 in Killinochchi, 2 in
Mannar, 2.5 in Vavuniya, 1.3 in Mullativu,
2.3 in Batticaloa, 2.5 in Ampara
and 2.2 in Trincomalee, to 2.2 in Puttalam, 3.1 in Anuradhapura and 2.9 in
Polonnaruwa. The Sri
Lanka average is 2.9. In terms of key health personnel,
the number per 100,000 population of public health midwives for Jaffna is
8.4,
Killinochchi 8.4 and Vavuniya 7.0. It is 16.8 for Batticaloa, 20.9 for
Ampara and 13.1 for Trincomalee. The national average
is 23.5.
- A
committee to monitor primary health-care services for affected families has been
established by the Ministry of Health. It includes
Ministry officials, local
health staff from affected areas such as directors of provincial health
services, representatives of NGOs
working in these areas, United Nations
organizations and the Ministry of Defence. A meeting is convened once every two
months to
deal with critical issues affecting the delivery of health services to
these areas including personnel deployment and the distribution
of
drugs.
- There
are often shortages of essential drugs when there are delays in getting them to
affected areas. Part of the problem is that
the entire supply in these areas is
dependent on supplies made available by the Government free of charge, as the
private sector
is not operational. In non-conflict areas, government sources
supply part of the requirements of the population, while the balance
is obtained
from private sources.
- The
Government is conscious of the possibility that infant and child mortality and
morbidity and maternal mortality and morbidity
tend to worsen in all conflict
areas. There is a tendency to underreport infant and maternal deaths
particularly in the “uncleared”
areas; however, the continued
existence of a health infrastructure, even in a weakened form, is a unique
feature in most areas affected
by the conflict in Sri Lanka. Due to the
destruction of hospitals, the exodus of trained personnel and security reasons,
the capacity
of the health system to deliver basic services to children, women
and their families has been affected. However, all hospitals (district
and
rural) continue to function. Action is being taken to overcome the shortages of
hospital staff and equipment. In September
1998, plans were made by the
Ministry of Health with UNDP to rehabilitate and improve the services of the
Jaffna Teaching Hospital
at a cost of US$ 600,000, primarily funded by the
Government of the Netherlands. The objective of the project was to complete the
construction of a two-floor ward building, provide refresher training for
existing staff, expedite recruitment of staff, ensure access
to drugs and
essential supplies, install internal communications, ensure continuous water
supply, improve waste disposal and procure
priority equipment. This project has
now reached its final stage.
- The
availability of safe water and sanitation is a problem in welfare camps, leading
to diarrhoea and water-borne diseases. The use
of facilities provided for
temporary use has had to be prolonged beyond their lifespan and the overcrowding
in camps posed a problem
of disequilibrium between the supply of and demand for
facilities.
J. Food
- Ensuring
food security is one of the major challenges faced by the Government in bringing
normalcy to the Jaffna peninsula. It has
been observed that there was no
shortage of food within the peninsula from 1997 to 1999. The sources of food
supply to the peninsula
are twofold: local production and supplies brought from
Colombo via Trincomalee. The supply of food and other essential items to
the
Jaffna District is effected through the Commissioner General of Essential
Services (CGES), the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment
(CWE), MultiPurpose
Cooperative Societies (MPCS), private traders and the Food Commissioner. The
food items received from CGES are
mostly used to issue free rations to the
resettled families and affected fishing families. The food assistance takes the
form of
dry rations. The dry ration consists of dhal, flour, rice, pulses,
sugar and powdered milk and is distributed through MPCS. As
of 1 December 1999, the number of dry ration recipients in the Jaffna
District amounted to 269,185 persons.
- Food
items brought by institutions other than the CGES and the Food Commissioner are
distributed through the normal market channels
by MPCS outlets and private
traders to consumers. With the approval of the President, RRAN has organized
transport of essential
items and building materials to Jaffna by government
sector organizations such as CWE, the Building Materials Corporation (BMC),
the
State Trading Corporation (STC) and the cooperatives, at government
cost.
Table 9. Food supplies sent to Jaffna for the years 1998 and
1999
|
|
1999 mt
|
Rice
|
22 497
|
31 738
|
Sugar
|
10 791
|
6 598
|
Dhal
|
2 516
|
1 519
|
Milk food
|
939
|
450
|
Flour
|
22 024
|
58 664
|
Total
|
58 767
|
68 969
|
Source: CGES.
|
- The
Ministry of Health promotes growth monitoring and has started the distribution
of thriposha - a supplementary food for pregnant
and lactating mothers,
infants and pre-school children. In order to overcome the problem of
malnutrition, some local NGOs conduct
supplementary feeding centres, which
provide nutritious meals of local food for children in conflict areas. Iron
supplements are
provided through maternal and child health clinics.
K. Resettlement
- The
policy of the Government has been to promote resettlement in areas wherever
the security situation improves. This is a commitment
to support family
life and normalcy for children. The Government provides a package of
assistance valued at Rs 39,000 (about US$
600) for this purpose.
It includes a temporary shelter grant, a settling-in allowance,
a productive enterprise grant, and an allocation
for the purchase of
agricultural implements.
In addition, the Government provides soft
loans for housing reconstruction and economic enterprises. The funds channelled
for resettlement
and rehabilitation activities in Jaffna between 1996 to
the end of 1998 amounted to 637.1 million (sic). About 100,200 families
have
already been resettled in their original places of residence in 15 divisional
secretariats.
- A
resettlement programme is currently being implemented in the Jaffna peninsula
and its islands, the Eastern Province, and the districts
bordering the Northern
Province such as Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.
L. Psychosocial issues and responses
- The
conflict contributes to both the mortality and morbidity of children and women,
and in addition has widespread psychosocial implications
that are more difficult
to assess and monitor. A lack of a primary mental health-care network in Sri
Lanka which could lend itself
to establishing a programme to reach all children
in need was a barrier during the first two years of the conflict. However, some
response has been developed by the Departments of Psychiatry in Colombo and
Kandy, in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry
in Jaffna, to plan and
develop such a programme, taking into consideration cost-effectiveness and
sustainability. The programme
is linked to the primary health-care
infrastructure. Psychotherapeutic approaches based on Western mental health
traditions, which
emphasize individuals, are not used, but a community-based
approach is practised. The primary health-care system provided the potential
to
build such a service. The programme takes into account the developmental needs
of children, incorporating the best practices
that emphasize knowledge of, and
respect for local culture and traditions and the importance of integration with
community-based
functionaries and the communities themselves.
- For
ethical reasons, no large-scale surveys using questionnaires have been conducted
on those who need support. This information
is mostly obtained from health and
community workers, teachers and parents. It is felt that information from
affected children should
be collected only for interventions. Many of the
rehabilitation workers have reported that nearly all children are subject to
stress
and display a range of signs and symptoms pertaining to separation
anxiety, developmental delays, nightmares and sleep disturbances,
loss of
appetite, withdrawn behaviour, and diminished interest in play and recreation.
Younger children have learning difficulties,
while older children and
adolescents have other problems. Development of identity is a problem for them.
Adolescents living in conflict
areas find it hard to think of and hope for a
secure future. Many are therefore depressed and pessimistic. They tend to
become
rebellious, and do not seek adult guidance. They have no proper role
models to follow. In such an environment, it has been relatively
expedient for
LTTE to force them into combat, as they are vulnerable.
- Another
factor which affects children is the emotional change which occurs in parents
and adult caregivers living in conflict situations.
Children find it hard to
understand them when they change, obviously due to their own traumatic
experiences. This is particularly
manifest in children of war widows and in
orphans.
- Community-based
interventions have been implemented through health workers, volunteers and NGOs.
Some local schools, teachers as well
as pre-schools are also involved in
implementing the programme. Activities include raising awareness about how
central caregivers
such as parents, teachers, and community and health workers
can help affected children and promote psychological healing and well-being
in a
situation of conflict. Core groups of trainers who can function at community
level, including family health workers, teachers
and volunteers, have been
stationed in some of the affected districts.
- Efforts
have commenced to use the school structure and teachers to reach children in
distress. Teachers can help children develop
new skills and knowledge necessary
for problem solving. This process needs to be expanded, as it would be a useful
network in addition
to the public health-care system which is
functioning.
- NGOs,
especially those working directly with children and families at community level,
have been mobilized for support using a training
manual as the basis of their
interventions. They have been effective in reaching affected children and
families. A number of NGOs
are using this training manual as a basis for their
services to children at village level.
- The
programme at present is not reaching all areas; it is estimated to cover
about 20 per cent of affected groups. The process of
expansion
continues in order to reach all children in need.
M. Unaccompanied children
- Although
it is known that there are unaccompanied children living in welfare centres,
their exact number is still to be determined.
Efforts are being made by Social
Service authorities to trace their families for reunification. In some areas
local NGOs are involved
in the process. It is recognized that these
efforts need to be monitored to ensure that standards and norms are maintained.
The
majority of these children have lost both their parents, or they are from
singleparent families where the widowed mothers cannot
support them due to their
poor economic prospects.
- It
has been noted that there are unaccompanied children living outside welfare
centres, and that there are many child-headed households.
There is anecdotal
evidence that such unaccompanied children are at risk of being taken to cities
for employment as child domestics,
or are at risk of being recruited as
combatants by LTTE.
N. Rehabilitation and social integration of child
combatants
- Since
the war is ongoing, there is as yet no overall plan for the social integration
of child combatants. However, those who have
voluntarily left LTTE are being
rehabilitated. There are three rehabilitation centres at present. Vocational
training in masonry,
carpentry, tailoring and agriculture are provided.
Counselling too is available. There are plans to improve the quality of
psychological
support they receive through expertise to be channelled through
NCPA. Some reunite with their families, but for many this is not
possible as
these families are living in the north, and they are too frightened to leave
their present abodes.
O. Displacement of families and disruption of social
life
- There
are many geographical areas affected by the conflict, each having its own
problems. Jaffna has been the centre for several
years. It experienced several
episodes of displacement of people. The Jaffna peninsula was recaptured by
government forces in 1996,
which created the opportunity for many displaced
families to return to their original places of residence.
- Other
areas affected include the districts of Kilinochchi, Mullativu, Mannar and
North Vavuniya with a population of about 70,000,
of whom many are
displaced people from Jaffna and other areas. The battle for the control of
Jaffna in 1995 led to the displacement
of a large segment of the population to
Vanni and about 25 per cent of displaced families from Jaffna still reside
there. Since
the area of fighting is now in Vanni, there are frequent
displacements of communities, which has a negative impact on children.
About
82,000 displaced persons live in the Vanni region at present.
- The
Eastern Province, comprising the three districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and
Amparai, with a population of 1.2 million, accommodates
a large number of
displaced families. The peripheral areas are particularly affected by sporadic
armed attacks and are marginalized
with regard to basic services. There are
several “uncleared” areas in Batticaloa, Ampare and Trincomalee
where provision
of basic services is difficult. This situation has further
worsened over the last two years, as security problems have
arisen.
- The
districts of Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa with a population
of 1.7 million (the majority of whom belong to non-Tamil
communities),
have experienced waves of massive displacement of people since the beginning of
the armed conflict. In 1990, following
LTTE attacks aimed at “ethnic
cleansing”, 90,000 Muslims were displaced in Mannar, Mulativu and Jaffna
and were accommodated
in Puttalam.
- Anuradhapura
and Polonnaruwa, with a predominately Sinhala population, have experienced
violent attacks. It is estimated that in
Anuradhapura district alone, 76,000
families are still at risk of such attacks. They live in constant fear, often
sleeping in the
jungle to avoid attacks by LTTE. Snakebites are a common
occurrence in such situations. Their farming and other earning activities
too
have virtually collapsed.
- In
Puttalam, the displaced families are a marginalized group of impoverished people
who try to supplement their income by working
as casual labourers. Their
presence is resented by the local community because it is alleged that they
undercut wage rates. NGOs
supplement government aid services, specially the
supply of food and drugs.
P. Children in conflict with the law and exploited
children
- The
subject of the trial and treatment of young offenders as distinct from adult
offenders was first considered in Sri Lanka in the
1920s. A legislative
framework for the administration of juvenile justice was first introduced in
1939 with the enactment of the
Children and Young Persons’ Ordinance
(CYPO) and the Youthful Offenders’ Training Schools’ Ordinance
(TSYO).
- CYPO
defines a “child” as a person under 14 years, and a “young
person” as a person who has attained 14 years
but is under 16 years of
age. A “youthful offender” is a person between 16 and 22 years. It
provides for the establishment
of juvenile courts, the supervision of juvenile
offenders and the protection of children and young persons. TSYO provides for
the
establishment of training schools for youthful offenders for their
detention, training and rehabilitation.
- The
Penal Code of Sri Lanka prescribes 8 years as the minimum age of criminal
responsibility.
- The
administration of CYPO comes within the purview of the Department of Probation
and Childcare Services (provincial) while TSYO
is administered by the Department
of Prisons.
Q. Administration of juvenile justice
- The
laws relating to the administration of juvenile justice have never been amended
since their enactment nearly 60 years ago and
the need for their review to suit
current circumstances has received the attention of the relevant authorities.
In 1997, the Law
Commission of Sri Lanka at the request of the Ministry of
Justice examined in detail all matters relating to the administration of
juvenile justice. The Law Commission has identified the following general areas
as requiring consideration for change:
(a) Anomalies in
terminology used to define categories of juveniles;
(b) The decisive
nature of and difficulties encountered in establishing the age of
juveniles;
(c) The jurisdiction of juvenile courts and the procedures to
be adopted by them;
(d) The need to ensure the segregation of juveniles
from adult detainees at all stages of the legal
process;
(e) Representation of/protection for juveniles involved in the
legal process;
(f) The need for a Code of Juvenile Justice
Procedure;
(g) The classification and conditions of places of detention
of juveniles;
(h) The need to develop non-custodial measures for the
treatment of juveniles in conflict with the law.
- In
1997 a research project on the abused child and the legal process of Sri Lanka
was carried out at the request of the National Monitoring
Committee appointed
under the Children’s Charter (Vijaya Samaraweera report). The Law
Commission in its deliberations had
heeded recommendations of this
report.
- The
recommendations contained in both the Law Commission report and the Samaraweera
report were circulated among a wider group of
concerned institutions and persons
with a view to obtaining a broader consensus.
- The
implementing process in relation to these recommendations is presently under
consideration.
R. Children in situations of exploitation
- Sri
Lankan children continue to work in exploitative occupations unattractive to
adults, where wages are low. Child labour occurs
mostly in the informal sectors
of small, unregistered concerns, private homes and illegal enterprises.
Resource constraints and
official complacency as well as poverty have
contributed to low-income families using child labour. Although the majority of
children
enter school, Sri Lanka has yet to achieve universal primary education.
According to reports at least 125,000 children are reported
to drop out of
school annually before the age of 15. The out-of-school population of the 5-14
age group inevitably provides a pool
of actual and potential child labour.
- There
is evidence to show that the children vulnerable to child labour belong to
poverty groups in low-income urban neighbourhoods,
remote rural villages, new
settlements and tea plantations. Children living in refugee camps in
conflict-affected areas are another
vulnerable group. Many are prevented by the
cost of education from utilizing even existing education facilities. Some are
often
compelled by parental pressure to contribute to family income or to assume
childcare and household responsibilities very early in
their
lives.
- The
commonest form of child labour in Sri Lanka is domestic labour. Besides being
emotionally abused, many children are physically
and sexually abused too.
Domestic labour is commonest in urban areas. There are also street children who
work in cities such as
Colombo. Their numbers are estimated to be 20,000. They
too are deprived of basic needs in terms of health, nutrition and education.
They work, live, learn and play in the streets. They are also in danger of
being subject to violence and abuse. One of the most
degrading and serious
forms of child labour involves commercial sex tourism. In Sri Lanka commercial
sex tourism involves small
boys in the age range of 8-13 years. Regular
employment of children occurs in the informal sector in family enterprises such
as
family farms, crafts, small trade establishments, eating houses and repair
workshops.
S. A study on child labour
- A
study done in the Galle district on child domestic labour indicates that about 9
per cent of households have child servants. The
town areas with tea estates in
the vicinity had the highest number (14 per cent). In the younger age group
(5-12 years) more boys
were employed and in the 12-14 year age group, the
majority employed were girls.
- One
of the main issues relating to child labour, particularly domestic labour, is a
lack of proper and effective law enforcement.
During the reporting period the
setting up of a special Police Desk on Child Abuse in Colombo at the main police
headquarters and
32 desks at district level with trained female police officers
has been a step in the right direction. This, coupled with a multi-media
campaign against child labour, has led to an immediate increase in the number of
complaints and investigations of offences against
children. Approximately 60-70
per cent of these complaints were related to children in domestic labour. The
police have established
a hot line (444444), and a post office box for
complaints.
- The
minimum age of employment of children as domestic labour was raised from 12
to 14 years by an amendment to the Women’s,
Young Person’s and
Children’s Act, No. 47
of 1956, in December 1999. At
present, the minimum age of employment in all sectors other than the plantation
sector is 14 years.
Action is being taken by the Government to raise the age of
employment in the plantation sector from 10 to 14 years. Further, the
Ministry
of Labour has initiated action to make payment of compensation mandatory for
violating the minimum employment age requirement.
- There
has been a concerted effort by the NCPA in collaboration with the Ministry of
Justice to sensitize judges and magistrates, who
tend to let off convicted
employers with light fine payments. The Ministry of Justice, through the Sri
Lanka Judges Institute, has
conducted these seminars.
- Another
continuing issue which needs to be addressed is what happens to a child domestic
following a court appearance. Unfortunately,
in many instances the parents
cannot be traced or they refuse to take the child back, citing poverty, and the
child is sent to an
institution. There are ongoing discussions on how these
children could be better supported within the family once they return, including
their re-entry to school.
- Programmes
are being planned to promote the psychological recovery and social reintegration
of these children. This is necessary
both for them as well as for children who
have been sexually abused by foreign paedophiles. The National Institute of
Social Development
has commenced training of staff who can help in promoting
their recovery and social integration. NCPA has also undertaken training
of
paediatricians and other categories of staff who are in a position to help these
children. However, more local capacity needs
to be built in this critical area
of need. Psychiatrists and psychologists have also been mobilized to establish
a wider system
of care. There are many NGOs that supplement the government
programme, but the need outstrips the availability of services.
- Provision
of care facilities for children whose parents cannot be traced is another area
in need of strengthening. At present the
need is greater than the facilities
available.
T. Sex tourism
- The
enactment of legislation on compulsory education by the Ministry of Education
will help in the elimination of child labour to
a considerable
extent.
- Most
of the local and international publicity on child abuse has so far been focused
on boys exploited by foreign paedophiles. This
consists of sexual exploitation
of boys between approximately 8-14 years of age. It is now well known that Sri
Lanka is part of
an international commercial sex tourism network. The exact
number of affected children is not known. NGOs
have quoted figures as high as 30,000 whilst some studies indicate the number
to be in the 2,0002,500 range. The problem first manifested
itself in the 1980s
and has since grown, particularly in the high-tourism areas along the seacoast
in the south and in places such
as Negombo.
U. A survey of child abuse
- Recent
studies reveal that there is more widespread child abuse than is reported in
police data. Physical abuse is much more common
than is recognized, but it is
often not identified and therefore not reported. Injuries are most commonly
caused by parents and
immediate caregivers and only occasionally by outsiders.
Physical abuse is well known to be common among child domestics. Nutritional
neglect tends to be associated with physical abuse. Incest is probably the
commonest form of sexual abuse. A study on 899 pre-university
students and
undergraduate students undertaken by the Department of Paediatrics, University
of Ruhuna in Galle, revealed that as
many as 18 per cent of boys and 4.5 per
cent of girls had been sexually abused in childhood. The majority of the boys
had been abused
by relatives, neighbours, brothers, teachers and priests. The
girls did not divulge their abusers, signifying the possibility of
close family
members. The same questionnaire administered to girls after a lecture increased
the number from 4.5 per cent to 12.3
per cent who divulged the abuser as a
brother, an uncle or the father.
- Unfortunately,
the adult abusers are protected against enforcement of the law as children are
coerced not to disclose the identity
of their abusers. This is mainly due to
fear of breaking up family units.
- Sexual
abuse as well as other forms of abuse have also been reported in childcare
institutions that are poorly supervised and monitored.
- The
importance of protecting children from abuse was accorded high-level political
commitment in 1998. A presidential task force
was set up in December 1997 to
plan interventions and programmes on a national basis. One recommendation was
the setting up of the
National Child Protection Authority.
- The
Child Protection Authority Act defines a child as a person under 18 years of
age:
“For purposes of the Act, ‘Child Abuse’
is defined as:
“All acts of sexual violence against
children;
“Cruelty to children;
“Use of children in
obscene publications;
“Use of children in exploitative
labour;
“Use of children in illegal
activities;
“Non-conformity to compulsory education
regulations;
“Involvement of children in armed
conflict.”
- The
Authority appointed a multidisciplinary team who have the power to inspect and
search premises and seize articles of an unauthorized
nature.
V. Amendments to ordinances
- The
Ministry of Social Services sought the approval of the Cabinet for amending the
Children and Young Persons’ Ordinance, No.
48 of 1939, to achieve the
following:
(a) To prevent a child being in future contact with
an abuser or being sent to the place where the abuse took place. To make it
mandatory
for heads of certified schools to accept children in need of care on
court orders;
(b) To amend the Orphanages’ Ordinance, No. 22 of
1941, to provide criminal penalties for those running orphanages without a
licence;
(c) To amend the Prevention of Crimes Ordinance to provide
recognition of Penal Code offences as fingerprintable offences; the
Ministry
of Defence has taken action in this regard;
(d) To develop a new
medico-legal report with content relevant to children, making reporting
mandatory. A subcommittee was set up
by NCPA to formulate procedures to be
adopted by doctors when cases of child abuse are detected. Decentralized child
protection
schemes have been started under the guidance of the respective
provincial commissioners of probation and childcare.
VII. CONCLUSION
- Sri
Lanka has gone a long way in institutionalizing safeguards and in consolidating
efforts for the protection of the rights of children.
Introduction of new
legislation/amendments to existing legislation, installation of monitoring and
surveillance mechanisms and establishment
of administration structures for
carrying out operational steps relevant to legislative requirements and policy
pronouncements are
among the measures taken by the State for protecting children
and for dealing with encroachments on children’s rights. NGOs
and the
media have played a significant role in bringing to light instances of child
abuse. Sri Lanka is presently pursuing a multi-sectoral
approach for the
protection of children. In this approach, personnel in such spheres as health,
education, law enforcement and rehabilitation
cooperate in pursuit of a common
goal.
Annex
DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL, HEALTH, EDUCATIONAL AND
ECONOMIC
INDICATORS OF SRI LANKA
Population: 1994
- 17,865,000
1997 -
18,552,000 Males - 9,457,000
Female - 9,095,000
Population
growth rate: 1994 - 1.4 per cent
1997 - 1.3 per cent
Life
expectancy: 1997 - Male - 69.5
years
Female - 74.2
years
Population by residence: Rural - 72.2 per cent
Urban - 21.5 per cent
Plantation - 6.3 per
cent
HDI: Human Development Index ( a composite of life
expectancy, education and income calculated by UNDP) -
Sri Lanka is the highest among the countries - 0.711
of the South
Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC)
Access to
safe drinking
water (1997): Rural 30 per cent
Urban 70 per cent
Expenditure on health as a
percentage
of the total
expenditure: 1994 - 5.5 per cent
1997 -
5.7 per cent
Number of patients
per doctor: 1994 -
3,681
1997 - 2,760
Number of patients per
Ayurvedic
doctor: 1994 - 1,311
1997 - 1,230
Married women
using
contraceptives
(modern methods): 1997 - 43.7 per
cent
Children with acceptable
weight for age: 62.3
per cent
Public health midwives
per 100,000 population:
30.3 per cent
Hospital beds per
1,000
population: 2.9 per cent
Immunization of
infants
(Annual Health Bulletin): 1997 - DPT3 - 97.5 per
cent
OPV - 98.4 per cent
BCG - 95.6 per
cent
Tetanus toxin for pregnant women - 83.7 per cent
GDP
growth rate: 1994 - 5.6 per cent
1998 - 4.7 per
cent
Per capita income: 1997 - US$ 804
Unemployment
rate: 1994 - 12.0 per cent
1997 - 10.2 per
cent
Inflation: 1997 - 1998: 9.6 per cent
Education
Total number of schools: 1994 -
10,936 1998 - 11,007
Total number of pupils in school: 1994 -
4,265,076 1998 - 4,286,894
Pupil: teacher ratio in schools: 1994
- 22 1998 - 22
Universities: 1994 - 9 1998 -
12
Pupils in universities: 1994 - 30,764 1998 -
34,139
Expenditure on education: 1994 - Rs 14,836 million 1998 -
Rs 17,757 million
Expenditure on education
as a percentage
of GDP: 1994 - 2.5 per cent 1998 - 2.7 per cent
Literacy
rate: 1994 - Male - 92.2 per cent Female - 85.2 per cent
1997 -
Male - 94.5 per cent Female - 89.8 per cent
Source: Sri Lanka
socio-economic data of the Central Bank, June 1998.
-----
[*] For the initial report submitted by the
Government of Sri Lanka, see CRC/C/8/Add.13 for its consideration by the
Committee, see
documents CRC/C/SR.228-230 and
CRC/C/15/Add.40.
GE.02-45860 (E)
191002
[*] This chapter also deals with the
request made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child for additional
information on the effects
of armed conflict on children (see CRC/C/15/Add.40,
para. 44).
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