RUZAIK FAROOK
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka officially expressed its Intent to Enter into Global Charter on Children’s Care Reform at the United Nations Compound, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo on Tuesday February 17.
The event was attended by the Rt. Hon. David Lammy, Member of Parliament, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. On behalf of Sri Lanka, the official Expression of Intent was made by the Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savithri Paulraj.
Sri Lanka has long been a State Party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and remains committed under international law to protecting and promoting children’s rights. The Global Charter for on Children’s Care Reform has been developed based on existing international commitments, including the 2009 United Nations General Assembly Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children; the 2019 UN General Assembly resolution focusing on the rights of children without parental care (A/RES/74/133); the CRPD/C/5: Guidelines on deinstitutionalization, including in emergencies (2022); the 2022 Kigali Declaration of Commonwealth States; and the 2024 1st Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which called for action. To date, 34 countries around the world have endorsed this Charter.
As no South Asian country has yet joined this Charter, Sri Lanka is set to become the first South Asian nation to do so.
The primary objective of joining this Charter is to further strengthen Sri Lanka’s national child Care policies and align their implementation with international standards.
Addressing the occasion, the Minister stated:
“Best interest of the child is not just a phrase, but a practice.”
The event was collaboratively organized by UNICEF and the British High Commission in Sri Lanka. Among those present were the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, HE. Andrew Patrick; British Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, HE. Theresa O’Mahony; UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche; UNICEF Representative to Sri Lanka, Emma Brigham; Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, Tharanganie Wickramasinghe; government officials; representatives of non-governmental organizations; and civil society representatives.
