Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre las peores formas de trabajo infantil, 1999 (núm. 182) - Sri Lanka (Ratificación : 2001)

Article 3(c) of the Convention. Use, procuring or offering of children for begging. The Committee notes that according to the statistics of the National Child Protection Authority, 323 complaints under section 288 of the Penal Code, 1998 related to the use of children for begging were reported in 2023. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific penalties imposed in cases of using children for begging under section 288 of the Penal Code, as well as the number of investigations and prosecutions carried out in this regard.

Article 7(2). Clauses (a) and (c). Access to free basic education. With regard to its previous comments concerning the measures taken to ensure access to free basic education particularly for children of “Plantation Tamils”, the Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that within the framework of the 13 Years Guaranteed Education Programme, out of the 525 schools where the program has been initiated, 18 of them are plantation schools and the total number of students enrolled in plantation schools from the academic year 2017–18 to 2022–23 is 2,417. The Committee also notes that according to the school census of 2021, available on the website of the Ministry of Education, there are 864 plantation schools accommodating 212,265 students.

Moreover, the Committee notes the information from the UNICEF report entitled Devastating crisis for children in Sri Lanka is a cautionary tale for South Asia, August 2022 that children’s education is being hindered by the current economic crisis in many ways. Children no longer get the warm and nutritious meal that they used to have before the crisis, they lack basic stationery, and their teachers struggle with transportation. It also notes from a press release of the UNICEF dated 16 August 2023 that 1.6 million primary school children across the country are facing challenges due to COVID-19 and the economic crisis, with 85 per cent of children in Grade 3 not achieving the minimum literacy and numeracy levels. This learning crisis has affected vulnerable children the most, including younger children in primary grades and those in plantation estates in the country. Currently, Sri Lanka allocates less than 2 per cent of its GDP on education, which falls well below the international benchmark of 4–6 per cent of GDP and is among the lowest in the South Asia region. The UNICEF press release also indicates that the Ministry of Education and UNICEF are jointly undertaking initiatives to recover the lost learning of children at school. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests it to continue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system thereby ensuring access to free and quality basic education to all children, including children of plantation workers. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard as well as on the results achieved.

Clause (d). identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children working and living in the street. In response to its previous comments in relation to the measures taken to address the situation of children working and living in the street, the Committee notes the Government’s information that the Women and Children Abuse Investigation Range (WCAIR) which is a multifaceted entity encompassing various institutions, undertakes periodic raids across the country to identify and provide care and support to vulnerable children, including children living, working or begging in the street. The children thus identified are brought before the court and are directed to a range of support services, as decided by the court. These services include skill development, vocational training, family reintegration, community support, counselling, legal support and psychological assistance. The Government indicates that in 2022, 553 children were identified and withdrawn from the street. Considering that children working and living in the street are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard. It also requests the Government to supply information on the number of children working and living in the street identified and withdrawn from the streets and provided with assistance for their rehabilitation and social integration.