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# SCCT Defends
Children at UNHRC

## Stop Child Cruelty Trust Stands Up for Sri Lankan Children at UNHRC

Stop Child Cruelty Trust submitted a proposal to the UNHRC's 42nd session of the Universal Periodic Review, urging the international community to hold the Government of Sri Lanka accountable for protecting children.

Child protection is a national crisis in Sri Lanka. In the past 24 months, over 17 children have suffered physical or sexual abuse and murder. Despite this, relevant authorities have taken little action. To address this, Stop Child Cruelty Trust, a registered civil society organization committed to child rights, appealed to the international community to protect 5.2 million children, 25% of Sri Lanka's population. The proposal was submitted for the 42nd session of the UPR, held in January and February 2023 in Geneva.

SCC highlighted six key focus areas, which included:

Failure to implement a National Human Rights Action Plan

Failure to end corporal punishment in schools and in homes

Failure to protect the Human Rights Of Children Attending International Schools

Failure to recognize the child as a rights holder

Failure to implement the Juvenile Justice System

The failure of the police, probation, and childcare departments to protect children is a serious concern. Among the ten key recommendations are implementing the historic 2021 Supreme Court directive to unequivocally ban corporal punishment, concluding the Child Protection and Justice Bill, and regularizing international schools through the Ministry of Education to ensure they receive the same non-discriminatory constitutional protection.

Dr Tush Wickramanayaka, Founder of Stop Child Cruelty Trust and Co-convener of Sri Lanka's first Child Protection Alliance, said: "As a nation, we have failed our children. After Sri Lanka's third UPR review in 2017, the UNHRC High Commissioner urged the government to deliver real progress on the National Action Plan for Human Rights. They recommended ending corporal punishment everywhere, promoting positive, non-violent discipline, and stopping child labour. Unfortunately, the 2017-2021 plan removed key protections from the 2011-2016 plan, including the ban on corporal punishment. As a result, child abuse has worsened, with some children beaten to death."

SCC recommends ways to reduce and prevent atrocities, focusing on ending violence against children, especially corporal punishment. Our sustainable national plan, the 'Pentagon Proposal,' advocates for child rights and legal reforms with national and international authorities. For the first time, all party leaders have agreed to put child protection at the center of the National Security Agenda. On 8 November 2022, during a special parliamentary debate on child protection, school children delivered an appeal signed by over 5,000 citizens to MPs (#225maona), urging them to prioritize child protection in every political agenda.

Dr Wickramanayaka has just returned from Geneva, where she attended a four-day conference of the Pre-Sessions of the UPR, a platform dedicated to CSOs of States Under Review in 2023. "It was an amazing experience, with many exhausting individual discussions with Permanent Representatives of State Parties to present facts and gain support for our children, as we were the only dedicated child rights organization from Sri Lanka. With the overwhelming responses, I am confident we can change the path of our country to create an environment free of violence for the true beneficiaries of the future, our children. I wish to thank my team for their indefatigable efforts," declared a jubilant child rights defendant. Those interested in getting involved in the #Noguti campaign can visit stopchildcrueltytrust.org and the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stopchildcruelty or email info@stopchildcrueltytrust.org.

Children in ethnic communities are subjected to increased incidents of abuse. These are children from North of Sri Lanka, predominantly Tamil community distributing leaflets to raise awareness on child rights ensuring every child is protected.
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