1. Steering Committee Programme on Child Rights
The Convention on Children’s Rights of the United Nations was adopted in 1989 and Sri Lanka officially signed it in 1991. As a result, in order to protect the child rights of Sri Lanka with the aim of incorporating the rights cited in the Convention in a Policy Framework of Sri Lanka accordingly, a Convention of Child Rights was prepared in Sri Lanka. It is a document that contributes in strengthening child care. As per Article 40 cited in it, the National, Provincial, District and Divisional Committee structure has been implemented in this country since 2000. Currently, these committees are held as per the circular 1/2018 dated 10.01.2018.
Rural Development Committees
Identifying the children at risk at the Grama Niladhari Division level and taking actions/reporting regarding the issues identified about children Divisional Operating Committees Among the problems identified by the Rural Development Committee, Taking action, suggesting solutions and informing to solve the problems which could not be solved by referring to the Rural Development Committees but referred to the Divisional Operating Committee.
District Child Development Committees
Taking action, suggesting solutions and notifying to solve the problems which could not be solved by referring to the Divisional Operating Committees.
Provincial Child Development Committees
Taking action, suggesting solutions and informing to solve the problems which could not be solved by referring to the District Operating Committees.
National Child Development Committee
• Identifying and notifying through multi-stakeholder agencies /ministries to solve the issues which could not be solved by referring to the Provincial Child Development Committees.
• Ensuring children’s rights as per the International Convention on Children’s Rights combining all the respective institutions.
• Intervening from the rural, divisional, district and the National level regarding children
• Making policy decisions for the issues related to children at the National level.
Through this, it is anticipated to create an environment that paves the way for child protection and care, while minimizing the negative effects on children and based on good social values.
2. Project to set up Children’s Clubs and Children’s Councils
The establishment of children’s clubs is being carried out at the Grama Niladhari Division level since the year 2007 with the aim of empowering children to ensure the right to participation of children that covered by the articles of 12, 13 and 14 mentioned in the Convention on Children’s Rights.
Currently, Divisional Children’s Clubs have been formed by bringing together the children’s clubs established at the Divisional Secretariat Division level and the District Children’s Clubs have been formed by the combination of the office bearers of the Divisional Children’s Council. Presently, a Divisional Children’s Club has been established in each Divisional Secretariat Division and a District Children’s Club has been established in each district. The National Children’s Council has been established with the combination of District Councils. Programs such as the implementation of skills development programs, providing books for the libraries of children’s clubs and programs to develop virtue in children are been carried out by these children’s clubs. Registration of these children’s clubs is being carried out by the Department of Probation and Child Care Services. Children who join children’s clubs at the village level represent the Divisional, District and National level children’s council structures and the hierarchy of children’s clubs that starts at the Rural Children’s Clubs, moves towards the National Children’s Clubs through Divisional, and District Children’s Clubs. Accordingly, the children who bear the leadership of the children’s clubs established at the rural level will represent the Divisional Children’s Councils, children who bear positions in the Divisional level will represent the District Children’s Councils and the children who bear positions at the District level represent the National Children’s Council. Children’s clubs, implement programs to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills of children of the children’s councils and children also get opportunities within this program to represent in the international summits.
Divisional Children’s Councils have been established by bringing together the Children’s Clubs in Divisional Secretariat level and District Children’s Councils have been setup by aggregating the office bearers of Divisional Children’s Councils. By now, a Divisional Children’s Council has been established in every Divisional Secretariat and a District Children’s Council in every district. A National Children’s Council has also been set up by the collection of office bearers of District Children’s Councils. Programmes to develop skills of the children of children’s clubs, contributing books to children’s clubs and inculcating ethics of children have been done through children’s clubs.
3. Model Children’s Village Programme
In order to ensure the community based child care process, provisions have been allocated under this programme to implement programmes to safeguard the rights of the children in a selected village from each Divisional Secretariat Division. Under this, programmes have to be implemented within that village to safeguard every child’s right to development, survival, protection and participation with the involvement of various public officers.
For this purpose, project proposals that could be implemented at Divisional Secretariat Division level were obtained and provisions are allocated to implement them.
4. Awareness Programmes
A child is a person below the age of 18 years. Securing the rights of the children and protecting them from violence prevailing against them are the main responsibilities of our department. It is necessary to empower the children by discharging these duties to endow them a healthier tomorrow.
Based on these objectives, awareness programmes are organized and implemented at Divisional Secretariat Division level on various topics to raise awareness of the children to minimize the incidences currently taking place. Different social groups are targeted here.
Ex :-
Awareness programmes are conducted every year on various topics based on the social need to ensure the rights of the children and to ensure their security.
5. Preparation of Care Plans
Preparation of Care Plans is the programme implemented to ensure the long term safety of vulnerable children. The need for such a method emerged as a result of identifying a large number of vulnerable children in 2011, through the island wide survey conducted to identify vulnerable children.
The nature of the vulnerability of identified children was diverse. According to the situation, care plans are prepared to eliminate such vulnerability and to ensure their safety. It has to be implemented on short as well as long term basis over several years and follow up is done by the Child Rights Promotion Officers and Child Rights Promotion Assistants.
Support of other field officers is also obtained at all levels from preparation to implementation of care plans and in their evaluation. The importance of acting on a joint approach rather than an individual one in ensuring child safety has been emphasized through this.
Preparation of care plans helps to uplift the family condition while the child receives protection and development.
6. Child Centric Disaster Risk Reduction Programme
Children are the most affected group when faced with disasters, accidents and dangers and they are the main victims. It is imperative to give the skills to act promptly to identify such situations beforehand, pre-prepare to face such situations and the skills needed to mitigate such conditions as well as provide the resilience need to face such conditions for the children who become the victims of such incidents. Under this program, the knowledge, skills and attitudes are imparted through various activities and identify and implement projects under the initiative of children for this purpose. There, children are not limited to becoming mere victims of calamities, accidents or dangers but become social activists.
7. Child-led Research
Children are a major category of the society. Through the Child Led Research they are trained to see the society with transparency. Children become change agents through the implementation of activities in the project report that is prepared by studying issues that affect children as a child researcher. Also, through this program, instead of speaking merely by looking at the issues, children will be directed to study the issues scientifically. Identifying the problems faced by children by themselves, suggesting solutions and implementing those will provide opportunities for meaningful children’s participation and as a country that ratified the Convention of Children’s Rights, it allows to turn out Article 12 of it, a reality.
