Statement Delivered on the International Day of the Girl Child 2013 - Panel Discussion - The Girl Child in Sri Lanka

Date: 10 October 2013

Time: 9.30-11.30

Venue: Auditorium, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka

List of Speakers

Welcome to participants and agenda for the day by Professor Sharya Scharenguivel, Director, Centre for the Study on Human Rights

Welcome address, Subinay Nandy, UN Resident Co-ordinator

The girl child in Sri Lanka: Issues and challenges, Mr. Eric Elayappaarachchi, Secretary, Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs

Hazardous Forms of Child Labour: Effects on girls with special focus on child domestic workers, Mrs. Pearl Weerasinghe, Commissioner General of Labour, Department of Labour

UN Conventions and Sri Lanka’s commitment to address child labour, Professor Savitri Goonesekere

A youth perspective on the girl child and child labour/youth engagement, Jayathma Wickramanayake, National Youth Services Council

Statement by the Youth Representative, Jayathma Wickramanayake

Good Morning Everyone. When the world recognized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 we recognized in one voice that all human beings are EQUAL in Dignity and Rights. However still 65 years after the declaration, too many girls today suffer sexual abuse and violence, 32 Million girls have been denied Primary Education and many barriers have been blocking the way of young girls enjoying the basic human rights and liberties to which all human beings are entitled to.

Although there has been a considerable progress in ensuring their rights, there is much to do to eliminate these violations of Rights which are absolutely unacceptable in the second decade of the 21st Century! An important milestone in our fight was the declaration of 11th October as the International Day of the Girl Child by our Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon. As the Youth Delegate of Sri Lanka to the General Assembly last year I witnessed this historic occasion and now I am more excited and happy that this initiative is reaching my country and I am also a part of it.

Normally, we young people are consulted only regarding issues that directly affect the youth agenda of a country or a region. But today ILO has set an example by giving us a space to speak out our opinion on a nationally important issue, tackling child Labour, with special focus on the girl child.

It is now fourteen years since the ILO adopted the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention which helped generate an enormous change in attitudes towards child labour. An important element of the Convention was that attention should be given to the special situation of girls, and to children at special risk. Statistics prove that some 100 million girls are involved in child labour around the world. Many of them have little or no access to education and many are working in situations that place their health, safety and morals in serious danger.

Especially in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia and the Pacific, When families are pushed deeper into poverty and have to choose between sending their sons or their daughters to school, it tends to be the daughters that lose out. Even though there is little difference in the involvement of boys and girls in economic activity in general, girls work significantly more than boys in household chores and as a result often jeopardize their schooling. Some girls are not only engaged in an economic activity but also have responsibility for unpaid domestic work in their own household.

Since girls are more likely to lack basic education, it’s more difficult for them to protect their rights. A United Nations report on violence against children drew attention to the problem of violence against children at the workplace, including both verbal and physical abuse. It identified a number of sectors in which violence can be a particular problem. Most of these were sectors in which girls work in large numbers.

Much of the work undertaken by girls is less visible than that of boys. Typical examples are domestic work, work in small-scale agriculture, and work in small home-based workshops. The often hidden nature of domestic work has given rise to particular concerns. Girls engaged in domestic work are frequently reported as being treated poorly and sometimes being physically abused. Although some of these cases do become public, the fact that the work takes place within the confines of a private home means that abuse very often goes unseen and unreported.

The problem extends beyond domestic work. Girls working in many other situations also have little contact with others outside their immediate work environment, thus giving rise to concerns for their safety and welfare. Some of the worst forms of child labour may entail girls being deliberately hidden from the outside world. Girls trafficked for labour and prostitution, for instance, can sometimes be held as virtual prisoners.

As the UN Youth representative I got the opportunity to meet and work with young people from all around the country. A fact that struck me during the consultations in the North and East, was that there can be different perceptions of boys and girls who return to their villages after having left the armed forces and groups. Communities may not welcome girls because of the stigma attached to rape, sexual slavery and mothering babies fathered by armed fighters or as a result of rape. It is important that girls formerly and informally associated with armed forces and armed groups receive appropriate support.

Tackling child labour effectively calls for an integrated policy response based on strategies for reducing poverty and promoting decent work for adults. Among these strategies, the single most important policy step is the provision of free quality education for all children up to the minimum age of employment.

We as young people, applaud the new education policy recognizing the need for increasing the compulsory education age to 16 years and recommend that the minimum age of employment in Sri Lanka also be changed from 14 years to 16 years in order to address problems that may involve in implementation and enforcement.

We also wish to stress the importance of including child domestic work onto the list of 51 hazardous forms of labour in the region.

There is a need to put the issue of Child labour on a wider public sector and social partner agenda. It should be taken beyond the agencies that are primarily responsible for child labour issues. Grassroots level, district and provincial level and national level organizations working towards education, training and employment, social protection and other social services should take a holistic , and all inclusive approach to address child labour problems in the country.

Today as I speak, young people worldwide are speaking out against child labour and taking action to raise further awareness of this issue. “The Red Card Campaign” is carried out by youth groups in countries where football is a popular sport. Through this campaign they spread knowledge among their peers and act as a voice for those children whose rights are not respected and call on decision-makers to act urgently to protect children in danger.

I was very happy to learn that a youth-friendly version of Convention No. 182 against the worst forms of child labour has been developed. It can be used as a tool to help make young people aware that child labour is a violation of human rights, hindering children’s development, compromising entire generations and undermining the human capital of the world.

I would like to make this an opportunity to call upon all youth leaders and youth activists in Sri Lanka to join hands and create a local platform to make the goal of Zero Child Labour by 2016 a reality. We need to work together, starting from raising awareness among ourselves and then reaching out to a larger audience including our families, communities, schools and universities. Public awareness can be made by using various forms of artistic expression, discussion forums and effective usage of social media as a tool.

As we review the progress in combating child labour that has been achieved over the past years, as well as the challenges that lie ahead, there is ample evidence that the situation of girls deserves special attention.

Research shows that educating girls is one of the most effective ways of tackling poverty. Educated girls are more likely to earn more as adults, marry later in life, have fewer and healthier children, and have decision-making power within the household. Educated mothers are also more likely to ensure that their own children are educated, thereby helping to avoid future child labour. Tackling child labour among girls and ensuring their right to education are therefore important elements of broader strategies to promote development.

As a young person working closely with Government bodies, United Nations and many other mechanisms who have taken up the task of ensuring equal rights and liberties for all, I am certainly thrilled at the numerous suggestions and agendas proposed and approved. However there also needs to be strong follow up and review mechanisms to make sure that these plans are implemented and that these goals are met.

So I would like make a request to the UN country team, for next years international day of the girl child, shall we not come up with a fancy new topic but review and follow up the improvements and drawbacks within this particular year  in terms of tackling child labor.

I am grateful to the UN Country team and ILO for taking up this challenge in Sri Lanka where women's and girl’s empowerment is a NEED and for giving a platform for the voices of young people to be heard in the process.

Thank You.