# How can the new Government best take care of our children

## How Can the New Government Best Take Care of Our Children?

Stop Child Cruelty Trust (SCCT) and Child Protection Alliance (CPA), comprising thirteen credible organizations committed to protecting and promoting the rights of children, have appealed to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the newly elected government to elevate child welfare to the heart of national governance, ushering in a new dawn and firmly focusing on the true beneficiaries of the future: our children first.

The â€˜Summary Proposal for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rights â€“ A Dawn of a New Eraâ€™ highlights that citizens under the age of 18 years constitute 25 percent of Sri Lankaâ€™s population. Although Sri Lanka ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1991, child protection has become a national crisis in our paradise island. The proposal defines the objectives that the government should focus on as short term (0â€“6 months), medium term (6 monthsâ€“2 years), and long term (2â€“4 years).

All of the leaders of the main political parties, including Anura Kumara Dissanayake from National Peopleâ€™s Power (NPP), signed a proposal to put child protection at the heart of the national political agenda in 2022. However, it was deeply disheartening to note the lack of a specific policy proposal for child welfare during the presidential and general election campaign of all parties in 2024. SCCT and CPA hope that this summary proposal will provide direction for the new government to deliver sustainable changes to really focus on our children first beyond the rhetoric.

The Summary Proposal was accompanied by â€˜Children First â€“ A Deep Dive into the National Child Protection Authorityâ€™s Role in Child Protection in Sri Lanka,â€™ a comprehensive report of the Authority to shed light on its performance and identify areas of improvement. The historic first report of its kind was authored by iProbono, a CPA member organization. iProbono is a global group of social justice organizations and affiliates with a mission to enable people to access their rights in pursuit of a just society.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the National Child Protection Authorityâ€™s (NCPA) performance, iProbono conducted a thorough review of the Authorityâ€™s annual reports, the findings of the Auditor General, and key statistical data spanning the period from 2014 to 2022. This analysis revealed several areas where the NCPA could significantly enhance its operations. The findings suggest that the Authority is not fully leveraging its mandated powers, hindering its ability to effectively address child protection issues. To optimize its performance, the NCPA requires a substantial increase in resource allocation, improved data-sharing mechanisms, strengthened intersectoral collaboration, and the implementation of robust monitoring and evaluation systems.

The key objectives of the â€˜Summary Proposal for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rightsâ€™ are:

### Short-Term

- Appoint a Presidential Task Force for Women and Childrenâ€™s Issues.
- Provide additional budget allocation for education and child welfare.
- Conclude the legislative process to ban corporal punishment in all settings.
- Revise the 2016 Circular banning corporal punishment in schools to update guidance to better address strategies for eliminating corporal punishment and different types of violence in schools.
- Nationwide capacity development for teachers on â€œpositive discipline techniquesâ€ and 21 skills to prevent and respond to violence in schools, building on lessons learned from existing initiatives.
- Update child protection laws and regulations.

### Medium-Term

- Make the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) an independent institution as per Act No. 50 of 1998.
- Implement the legislative plan to abolish corporal punishment in all settings with responsible stakeholders.
- Implement the National Child Protection Policy approved by the Cabinet in 2019.
- Establish a Childrenâ€™s Act consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Establish separate courts dedicated for children.
- Establish a tagging system for suspected child abusers on bail to expedite the legal process.
- Establish a confidential register of convicted child sex offenders.
- Provide compulsory safeguarding training to everyone dealing with children.
- Ensure everyone dealing with children obtains a special criminal record check.
- Provide age-appropriate sex education.

### Long-Term

- Protect womenâ€™s and childrenâ€™s rights in the Constitution.
- Implement the Childrenâ€™s Act.
- Ensure wide reforms on institutionalized child care.
- Plan to end period poverty.

SCCT and CPA launched the hugely successful #NOguti campaign in 2022, which achieved palpable progress by obtaining Cabinet Approval for the Bill on Legal Reform to Abolish Corporal Punishment on 29 April 2024. This was further endorsed at the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogota on the 07th to the 08th of November 2024, when the government pledged to implement the bill by mid-2025.

SCCT and CPA will launch #InOurHands, another innovative national campaign in January 2025 encouraging people to hold the public representatives accountable and ensure that the above summary proposal and recommendations of the NCPA assessment report are implemented to put children first. SCCT and CPA invite all citizens, especially professional organizations working on child-related issues, to join the public campaign.

For further details, please visit www.stopchildcruelty.com or email info@stopchildcrueltytrust.org. Dr. Tush Wickramanayaka is the Chairperson at Stop Child Cruelty Trust and Co-convener of the Child Protection Alliance.