GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER ELEVEN CHILDREN FOR REHABILITATION

The Government of Sri Lanka welcomes the release on April 7, 2008, of eleven children by the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP). The Commissioner-General of Rehabilitation, Suhada Gamalath, on behalf of the Government accepted these children, who are thought to have been involved in the conflict, and has directed relevant authorities to commence a programme of rehabilitation for these children with immediate effect. In keeping with the Government’s undertaking given to several international forums dealing with the issue of children and armed conflict, especially the UN Security Council’s Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, the Government has taken steps to secure the release of, and initiate programmes of rehabilitation for, children caught up in armed conflict.

The eleven children are being housed at a Government facility outside Colombo and measures are underway to move them to a purpose-built rehabilitation centre shortly. The parents of the children will be given access to them and the children will undergo psychological evaluation and counselling in addition to programmes aimed at education, vocational training and skills development in order to enable them to successfully integrate into society as useful citizens in the future.

The Government appreciates the commitment shown by the TMVP, now that conditions of normality have been restored in the East, to ensure the release of children and their rehabilitation and takes it as a clear indication that the organization has taken this measure in consequence of its entry into the democratic mainstream. The Government has earnestly requested all armed groups to release any children they may have in their custody with a view to the rehabilitation and reintegration of these children and the securing of a better future in a country devoid of conflict and terrorism.

The release of the children was facilitated by the Batticaloa Police in cooperation with the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) and was witnessed by UNICEF and officials of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights. UNICEF has pledged its support to the Government’s efforts to rehabilitate children involved in and affected by armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, an AFP report filed in Colombo, on April 09 quoted UNICEF Chief in Sri Lanka as saying "Whilst this is an encouraging development, we continue to look forward to the release of all children in the ranks of armed groups in Sri Lanka."