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| Friday, 07 January 2005 |
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Possible attempts of child smuggling Certain individuals may attempt to smuggle children, victims of the tsunami, out of Sri Lanka, for child prostitution, child labour etc, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said in a release yesterday. NCPA chairman Prof. Harendra de Silva has alerted the Controller, Immigration and Emigration through the Secretary, Ministry of Defence and all Diplomatic Missions in Sri Lanka through the Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs on preventing these incidents. He has requested the Controller to instruct the respective officials to be vigilant on applications received to include the details of accompanying children in the parents' passport and Immigration and emigration officials at the airport to be alert. Prof. de Silva has also requested the Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform Diplomatic Missions in Sri Lanka to be vigilant on issuing visas for local children accompanied by locals/ foreigners posing as "their parents". Meanwhile, the UNICEF in a release said: "Many of the children who survived last week's lethal earthquake and tsunami were separated from their families and caregivers. The Government of Sri Lanka, UNICEF and Save the Children Sri Lanka (SCISL) are working together closely to ensure that these children remain in safe environments, protected from violence, exploitation and abuse. The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), UNICEF and SCISL have mobilised teams to identify and register all unaccompanied and separated children. Joint teams are identifying children living in temporary camps for the displaced as a priority. They will then be working with communities to identify and register all children who have been separated from their immediate families. The agencies are asking communities to contact any of the above agencies at their local offices, with information on separated children within their communities. The teams will be tracing the children's closest relatives, in order to reunify them as quickly as possible. If relatives cannot be found, Probation Officers will make comprehensive assessments to plan for the best possible care. Options include fostering, adoption or as a last resort, a home for children. The agencies stress that children will not be considered for adoption during the emergency phase, and until every opportunity to locate family members is exhausted. Adoption is a lengthy process and takes many months; the relevant authority for this is the DPCC. Family members or others who are caring for children who have lost their parents should register with the Divisional Secretary or the Department of Probation and Child Care (DPCC). Even if children are being cared for they should register the children so that tracing of their family can be activated for the child - in the case of children whose parents have died other family members will be traced". |
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