Universal Children's Day commemoration at Vihara Maha Devi Park

by Anjana Gamage

More than 600 children in the age group 10 to 14 from every corner of the country will gather today at the Vihara Maha Devi Park to commemorate Universal Children's Day which falls tomorrow (October 1).

This national event is organised by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA). The event will be celebrated over three days beginning at 9.00 a.m. each day.

According to NCPA Additional Media officer, Vikum Perera, school children who will converge from nine districts including children from NCPA "dropping centres" will be provided fun and amusement during their stay at the park.

The Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) will have a special presentation today on 'How to Combat Child Sex Tourism' to create a socially responsible travel and tourism industry to mark Universal Children's Day.

The demonstration will be presented at the Ceylon Hotel School auditorium at 10.00 a.m. by SLTB Director General S. Kalaiselvam.

"This special presentation is an outcome of several meetings that the SLTB had with NCPA officials. When basically compared with other Asian countries, utilising child sex in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is much less.

But even that minimal level too should be combatted. It is our social responsibility. This is why we have a special presentation," Kalaiselvam said. However according to NCPA sources, the police unit at the NCPA had only 15 cases against foreigners for child abuse cases from 2002 up to now.

"We know that it should be much higher. But these are the only official complaints we received at the NCPA. Out of this 15 legal cases, one was sorted in Sri Lanka and the other in UK. Ten cases are still pending. Two cases were on illicit trafficking and the Chinese nationals involved were expelled from the country. One case was dismissed due to certain legal problems," Perera said.

According to him, most of the child exploitation for sex are recorded from beachside hotels.

Meanwhile, SLTB Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara in a message to mark Universal Children's Day said the SLTB worked hard to ensure that all children, specially in Sri Lanka, are not victims and protection of all children be ensured from any abuse or evil as a result of the tourism.

"The international tourism industry is booming and since the 1960's international travel has increased seven-fold.

As tourists eagerly travel to distant lands to enjoy new landscapes and cultures, economically developing countries have welcomed the expansion of the international tourism industry as a much-needed source of income within their own nations.

With the exponential rise in this industry, however comes the growth of a darker, more clandestine phenomenon: child sex tourism. Child sex tourists are individuals that travel to foreign countries to engage in sexual activity with children," he said.

The Tourism Ministry and the SLTB with the assistance of UNICEF is working out ways and means of minimising child sex tourism in Sri Lanka. It is necessary that a healthy image of tourism is created. In doing so it is important to ensure children are protected from being sexually exploited, Nanayakkara said.

"It is vital that all tourists and those that are connected with the tourist industry are made aware that child sex tourism is illegal and unacceptable in Sri Lanka. We further want all tourists arriving be made aware of the tourism industry's zero tolerance of child sex tourism'" he said.

"We in the industry with the assistance of all travel organisations, airlines, hotel organisations and others who stand to profit both directly and indirectly from international tourism are working on an Action Plan to eliminate child sex tourism from Sri Lanka.

We are committed to ensure the image of the country be preserved, whilst promoting tourism, so that a responsible tourism industry would be created in Sri Lanka while safeguarding our children who will be our future and national investment," Nanayakkara said.