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Child protection law needs to be fortified -
minister:
'Let not a mobile phone dominate your child'
Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE
Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister Tissa Karaliyadda
yesterday called on parents to refrain from giving a mobile phone to a
child.
"Mobile phones are a must for today's children. A parent should not
give a mobile phone to a child. Similarly, children should not use a
phone until they are employed," he said.
"They could always use their parents' mobile phones if and when
necessary," Minister Karaliyadda said.
He was addressing a ceremony to felicitate Rashmi Vidyani, a student
elected as a committee member to represent South Asia at the South Asia
Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) organisation.
The minister said the law has to be strengthened to provide children
with better safety and protection.
Karaliyadda said the country's child protection law is in need of
amendments as certain lapses have become a hindrance to the protection
of children.
The minister said law makers and legal authorities must focus on
formulating new laws strong enough to protect children.
He added: "Children are also duty bound to carry out their duties as
best as they could. Children should behave as children and not as
adults. Therefore, children must be taught to identify their limitations
and boundaries. They have to protect their dignity, as well as the
dignity of their parents and the country."
The minister said Rashmi Vidyani is exemplary in the entire child
community and her achievement is a felicitation to the entire nation.
SAIEVAC is an inter-governmental body with a vision that all children,
girls and boys, throughout South Asia enjoy their right to an
environment free from all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation,
neglect and discrimination.
SAIEVAC strives to provide better protection for children through
comprehensive child protection systems set up at regional and national
levels. Besides, governments, the civil society and children link
together to cooperate, share experiences and learning for an increased
impact on ending violence against children. |
