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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4932
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RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1592
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0359
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9698
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6634
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 4694
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 7183
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 002072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER 
 
DRL/IL FOR TU DANG 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
MCC FOR D NASSIRY AND E BURKE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID CE
SUBJECT:  SRI LANKA WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR UPDATE - DEC 2006 
 
REF: A) STATE 184972 B) 05 COLOMBO 001562 C) 04 COLOMBO 001396 D) 03 
 
COLOMBO 001436 
 
¶1.  Per Ref A, below is an update of the worst forms of child labor 
information for Sri Lanka.  This report provides new developments 
since the submission of the last update in 2005 (Ref B). 
 
Child Labor Legislation 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  In August 2006, the Parliament passed an amendment to the 
Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act enabling the 
Minister of Labor to publish regulations to prohibit the employment 
of persons below the age of eighteen (18) years in hazardous 
occupations.  Sri Lanka has compiled a list of 49 occupations 
considered to be hazardous forms of child labor existing in Sri 
Lanka, pursuant to the ratification of International Labor 
Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
in 2001.  Forty occupations will be unconditional and completely 
prohibited for children aged 14-18 years while the remaining nine 
occupations will be conditionally prohibited upon the publication of 
the relevant regulation.  Penalties for violation of the law are 
either a fine of Rs 10,000 (approximately USD 100) or imprisonment 
of up to 12 months or both, and payment of compensation as decided 
by courts. 
 
¶3.  The government also amended the Penal Code in 2006 to strengthen 
laws against child abuse and child labor.  The amendment aims to 
prevent sexual abuse of children via computers and in hotels as well 
as the soliciting of children for sexual abuse.  It also expands the 
definition of trafficking to conform to international standards. 
The amendment also gives effect to Sri Lanka's obligations under 
following ILO/UN Conventions: The Slavery Convention; The Convention 
Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labor; The Supplementary Convention 
on the Abolition of Slavery; the Slave Trade and Institutions and 
Practices Similar to Slavery; and The Convention on the Elimination 
of Worst Forms of Child Labor.  A jail term of up to 20 years is 
prescribed for offenses covered by these conventions.  Where the 
victim is under 18 years, the jail term may be extended up to 30 
years. 
 
Child Labor Law Enforcement 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Enforcement Statistics:  The following table presents data on 
child labor complaints made to government agencies. 
 
Year         Dept of Labor(A)       NCPA(C) 
          Complaints  Prosecutions   Complaints 
2000           194    7              184 
2001           255    42             276 
2002           161    26             386 
2003           203    44             179 
2004           147    48             409 
2005       105    NA         315 
2006(B)       60    NA         NA (D) 
Source: Department Of Labor and NCPA 
NA: not available 
 
(a) Employment of children below 14 years 
 
(b) Data for January to May 2006. 
 
(c) National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) receives complaints 
on all forms of abuse against children below 18 years.  Most of the 
complaints concern sexual abuse, including child prostitution. 
 
(d) In 2005, NCPA received eight complaints about child labor and 
196 about sexual abuse. 
 
¶5.  The National Child Protection Agency's cyber watch unit 
continues to combat child abuse (child pornography and pedophilia) 
using the internet.  The unit has also been able to crack down on 
foreign pedophiles operating in Sri Lanka.  Statistics pertaining to 
cyber watch unit activities are below.  Data within parenthesis 
indicate the number of foreign suspects. 
 
COLOMBO 00002072  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
--        No of investigations          No of arrests 
2002      45 (17)                       7 (4) 
2003      40 (10)                       2 (0) 
2004      25 (7)                        2 (2) 
2005(a)   34 (10)                       2 (0) 
 
(a) January to July 
 
Source:  National Child Protection Agency 
 
Government Policies and Programs 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  The government has created a new Ministry of Child Development 
and Women's Empowerment.  The National Child Protection Authority 
(NCPA), the main agency tasked with protection of chldren from 
child labor, abuse and exploitation, hich was earlier an 
independent authority under he President's office, has been placed 
under thisnew ministry.  The NCPA is being re-organized unde a new 
chairperson and a new board of directors,and has been less active 
in the past 12 months, han in the previous years. 
 
¶7.  The Government o Sri Lanka continues to demonstrate a strong 
commitment to education, and strives to eliminate childlabor 
through education.  The government continus to provide free 
education as well as free schol textbooks, breakfasts and uniforms. 
 Schoolingis mandatory for all children aged 6 to 14 years. 
According to a recent World Bank report, net primary school 
enrolment in Sri Lanka was 96 percent and primary completion rate 
was 95 percent.  The government now faces the challenges of 
expanding equitable access to post-primary education and 
establishing a high quality education system.  To respond to these 
challenges, the government has developed an overarching Education 
Sector Development Framework and Program (ESDFP) for the period 
2006-2010.  The World Bank is supporting the ESDFP with grant funds 
of USD 60 million.  Although not explicitly stated, child labor will 
be discouraged through a key component of the project which aims to 
promote school attendance and informal education, upgrading of 
school network in rural and estate regions (key sources of child 
labor), and special education programs for children with special 
learning needs.  The government is also working with UNICEF and ILO 
IPEC to eliminate child labor and improve access to education and 
informal education. 
 
New Developments 
---------------- 
 
¶8.  No national survey of child labor has been done since 1999.  The 
ILO Sri Lanka has repeatedly stressed the need for updated data, to 
take stock of the current child labor situation and design programs 
and policies to address problems.  ILO is currently preparing a new 
program for elimination of child labor.  US Department of Labor is 
expected to fund some aspects of the program which will include 
research, a national estimation of child labor in key sectors, and 
policy formulation. 
 
¶9.  Child Soldiers:  Child conscription by the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continues to be the gravest problem facing 
children of Sri Lanka.  Despite a commitment to release all children 
within their ranks, the LTTE continues to recruit children. 
According to UNICEF data bases, as of October 2006, there are 1598 
outstanding cases of under age (below 18 years) recruitment by the 
LTTE and another 142 cases of under age recruitment by a breakaway 
LTTE group, Karuna.  The international community, led by the UNICEF, 
has repeatedly condemned the recruitment of child combatants by the 
LTTE and Karuna group.  In November 2006, UNICEF accused GSL troops 
of assisting the Karuna group to recruit child soldiers.  Sri Lanka 
has determined that child soldiers are child laborers, thereby 
affirming that their recruitment is a punishable crime under the new 
law. 
 
¶10.  Child Sex Tourism:  According to UNICEF, while the exact 
numbers are not known, it's estimated that a significant number of 
Sri Lankan children are drawn into prostitution every year, the 
majority of them boys.  These children are exploited by both local 
 
COLOMBO 00002072  003 OF 003 
 
 
people and foreign tourists.  In order to combat child sex tourism, 
the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and the government tourism promotion 
agency, with UNICEF support, launched a two year action plan in mid 
¶2006.  The campaign will target tourists, children, adolescents, 
hoteliers and journalists through mass media and advertisements with 
the message that there is zero tolerance for child sex tourism. 
 
¶11.  Post will send copies of the new legislation mentioned in para 
2 and 3 via pouch to DOL/ILAB Tina McCarter. 
 
BLAKE