Sunday Times 2
Lanka needs comprehensive Child Protection Act
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is calling on the Sri Lankan government to review and put together all laws relating to children’s welfare to work out a comprehensive Child Protection Act.
In an interview with the Sunday Times to mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), UNICEF’s Sri Lanka Country Representative Una McCauley, said the organisation was determined to work with the state to improve quality education, end violence against children, improve nutrition and reduce child poverty. Excerpts:
- The Convention of the Rights of the Child is 25 this year. Briefly explain the convention and how it has benefited children around the globe, especially in developing countries.
Una McCauley: Sri Lanka was a child friendly country even before it ratified the convention.
The CRC came into being in 1989 and was a culmination of a number of processes. It was a realisation by the world that the human rights framework did not pay enough attention to the particular needs of children and just defined them as boys and girls under the age 18.
So the convention is divided into four groups of rights: survival rights, development rights, participation rights and protection rights. All this is based on the principle that what is best must be given to the child. This is a special area because the stakeholder, the child, has little or no voice in vital issues such as education and health care. Therefore others must do everything possible to ensure these and other rights of the child.
This is the most globally ratified convention and it has shaped the progress in every country. It allowed every country to measure itself against a series of aspirational goals for children.
The convention is a progressive piece of legislation. No matter what you do to realise the rights of children you can always do more.
Clearly, like any set of goals, the convention sets a vision by which countries can compare what they are doing but more importantly every government can look at its country and ask, “What are we doing for our children?”
Globally, the number of children who die in the first five years of life has dramatically changed in the past 25 years. The number of children, including girls coming to school and staying at school, has also improved. So has the number of countries that have legislation to protect children.
This convention is a living tool; it is the tools that keep us on our toes. For instance, in the past three to four years, we have been talking about the obligations and duties of the private sector towards children. This was never considered as an issue earlier. The private sector is now looking at its obligations towards it child customers or children who will be touched by its products as Corporate Social Responsibility and not just charitable work.
Even the role of technology in improving child rights was not thought about 25 years ago.
- As you see it, what are the areas that need improvement in Sri Lanka and is there adequate political will to make those improvements?
A: The political will is there and it is strong. I was inspired to hear the Speaker and other members speak about their unfinished work for children, when the parliamentarians met last Thursday for their first ever Caucus for Children.
We can always do better. Among the major issues are the need to address violence at community and family level. Children who experience or see violence are more prone to commit acts of violence on their own children and others. There is physical, sexual and psychological violence against children.
Sri Lanka has taken important steps to ensure that every child has access to health and education. The challenge is to look at the quality of health and education in this new technological era. We can’t have a situation where only children in cities have access to technology.
- Sri Lanka ratified the Convention in 1991. Since then how much has the country achieved? What have we missed?
Sri Lanka was a child friendly country even before it ratified the convention. Sri Lanka has an extensive network of civil servants who work in social fields, in the legal system and in the police on behalf of children. As in any country which is just entering a developed stage, the amount of resources that go into the services and strengthening the quality of those services is the next objective. Sri Lanka also needs to provide civil servants, teachers and medical workers with modern equipment and modern systems that allow them to give better service to children.
There are also areas where child poverty level is high. More resources are needed to help these families and to close the equity gap. In the estate sector and districts like Mullaitivu, Moneragala and Batticaloa poverty figures remain high. This does not suggest that nothing is being done and but we need to look at how things are being done.
- Article 3 of the convention underlines the best interests of the child. Do you think the country’s policy, budget and laws address the interests of children in the areas of education, security and social welfare?
A: We need to constantly review laws in the light of changing circumstances. We need to grow in the knowledge of how to provide services and how to protect children. Many countries have a comprehensive Children’s Act. That is something Sri Lanka does not have. All the laws could be brought under one Act. My previous posting was in Panama where there were several laws relating to the child, the family and the adolescent. Bringing all together will take away inconsistencies.
- Could you outline UNICEF’s projects here and its role in the coming years?
When a country enters the middle income status, the role of UNICEF and the UN changes. So instead of building projects, giving things, running workshops, we need to go much more into providing high level technical assistance and more policy oriented programmes.
That is the challenge for us. As we move into 2015, UNICEF needs to go into state of the art policies and information. We need to help the Government in using data for planning to improve budgets and policies. UNICEF is using data and information in more lively and vibrant ways, with more info graphics, charts, tables, more data and analysis, so that it can be used by interested parties in making decision or drafting policies.
- Most of these UNICEF projects are jointly done with the Government. What are the benefits and the obstacles when working with government agencies?
UNICEF is not an NGO but an inter-governmental organisation. We are able to use our global understanding. Most of the time, Sri Lanka’s development is compared with the South Asian region. But in many aspects, the comparatives are in Eastern European and Latin American countries.
Next year we are planning to bring Sri Lanka’s success story in reducing maternal and infant child mortality to other countries in the region.
Some of the downsides are that UNICEF is seen as a donor agency. There is a misunderstanding that if we are working with the government that means we are not working with civil societies.
- Article 40 of CRC relates to juvenile justice. Does the present legal system provide quick resolution of judicial or alternative proceedings and ensure the child receives legal help?
The legal system is still slow and there is a strong political will to speed that up. A lot of work is needed, not simply when a case gets to court. The police have to be told on how to investigate when a child is a victim or a perpetrator. Forensics, evidence gathering, lobbying of evidence should be in place.
- What is UNICEF Sri Lanka’s role in post-war recovery five years on?
A: We are looking at how we could support the commitment to start reconciliation with the youngest of children. If you don’t begin to change how children see the root causes of the conflicts of the past, then the long term change in attitude is much harder. But if we start with five or six year old children about living together, learning each other’s languages, peace building and resolving conflicts it would be much easier.
With social cohesion, reintegration, peace building and education, I see a role for us to strengthening analysis to see whether it is only former-war zones that need these or other parts of the country too. We need to go along with the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), the work of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration.
- There have been a number of unfortunate incidents in which children die of accidents and injuries due to negligence, reports of child abuse, parents committing suicide along with children or kidnapping of children. How can the government or UNICEF get involved in preventing such incidents?
A: There is a high level of awareness on these issues and related issues such as suicides, child abuse and violence. They need to be addressed through line ministries, through discussions with chief ministers, district and divisional levels authorities and community leaders.
Next year we plan to look at the real data on violence and injury and star tackling the underlying causes.
We must have a clear cut analysis without speculating. We do not know whether some are isolated incidents that attracted media publicity or there is an upward trend. There are no clear data or analyses.
Faith leaders play a major role. A large number of Sri Lankans participate in religious services and faith leaders could carry the message of violence prevention measures and address issues such as child abuse. Child marriages here are low compared to other countries, but there are instances where people live together without getting married.
- Do you think the National Child Protection Authority needs to be strengthened and surveillance by the Police Women and Children’s Bureau is sufficient?
A: All child protection agencies globally need to be strengthened and it is the same in Sri Lanka. We need more training and more people.