The Cost Of War

The
People’s Coalition For Justice
&
Humanity
***

SRI LANKA: Over 50,000 Children Killed in North-East War

Over 50,000 children have been killed and nearly 150,000 others have been displaced on account of the North-East war in Sri Lanka, which affects a total of two million people, according to Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne, a programme officer of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Dr. Wijemanne also disclosed that at present there were 100,000 to 150,000 children employed as domestics and 22,000 street children in the country.

Speaking at a workshop on the proposed National Child Protection Authority organised by the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, the UNICEF officer said that the children affected by the war mostly stayed at refugee camps in a very pathetic situation.

In Sri Lanka, about 322,000 births take place each year, but birth registration is not conducted properly, especially in rural areas. Deliveries take place in difficult conditions in areas such as Ampara, Trincomalee and Bibile.

Lives of lots of these children can be improved if families function properly, but disruption of family life due to alchoholism, working parents, single parents and several other reasons has placed them in a sorry plight, Dr. Wijemanne said.

Professor Harendra De Silva, chairperson of the Presidential Task Force on Child Reforms, said that nearly five million children were being abused in the United States each year. In the United Kingdom, action is taken against cases of child abuse within four hours of a complaint or reporting such a case. However, in Sri Lanka it sometimes takes four weeks or several months for action to be taken in such matters.

Even though Sri Lanka has enough specialised doctors to work in this specific field, they have no proper training, especially in detecting sexually abused children and counselling, Professor De Silva said.

Steps will be taken soon to train medical officers and judicial medical officers to work in this field, he said. A mobile service to register births will also be set up soon, he added.

Mr. Arun Tampoe, a child rights activist and a lawyer, said that when a child had been abused people must have a visible authority to make their complaint to, and the National Child Protection Authority would provide this service. He alleged that certain child abusers were receiving political patronage and as such they could not be nabbed. Witnesses are also reluctant to volunteer to give evidence because they have to undergo hardships including travelling expenses.

Mr. Tampoe, also a member of the Presidential Task Force on Child Reforms, noted that an umbrella organisation with representation of both government and private sector agencies was needed to harness the best available human resources to yield the best results for the cause of the children.

The idea of the National Child Protection Authority is to provide security for children who have been physically, emotionally and sexually abused, he said.

Director of the Child Protection Authority Rohan Edirisinghe said that according to the National Child Protection Authority Bill, the public or even journalists cannot question the authority members about their work and public participation in the authority’s work is also discouraged.

(Source: Daily News and Midweek Mirror, 19 August 1998.)

Posted on 2001-08-27
Back to [Vol. 08 No. 11 NOV 1998]

Contact Us!