Existing laws inadequate for child safety: Akila

The Existing laws and regulations in Sri Lanka are inadequate for the protection of children’s rights and to ensure their safety in the society, Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said .

He was delivering a speech at an awareness programme for children and school staff on World Children’s Day held at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) parallel to a series of programmes started by the Education Ministry and Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

The Chairman of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption Ms. Dilrukshi Dias Wickremesinghe also attended the event.

“I believe that existing legal framework is not efficient enough to prevent violation of the rights of our children. New laws should be introduced,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister Kariyawasam said the adults have a vital responsibility to guide children to work against corruption and bribery.

“To fulfill that responsibility, we have joined hands with the Commission to Investigate Bribery and Corruption by launching a series of awareness programmes for our children. National Institute of Education is currently working on our proposal to include lessons on prevention of bribery and corruption into the syllabus in schools,” he said.

He reiterated that corruption and bribery are the main obstacles in allocating government funds for the social and development work adding that such cancerous activities must be wiped out from the entire country.

The series of programmes is organized under Sathpiyawara awareness programme spearheaded by the Commission parallel to the International Anti-Corruption Day which falls on December 09.

This October month was named as the ‘Month of Preventing Bribery and Corruption’ by Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam.

During October, a number of workshops and events including debates and poster competitions would be held at all government schools in collaboration with the Commission and Education Ministry. (Piyumi Fonseka)