CHOGM Summit 2013 commences in Sri Lanka

The inaugural session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting commenced at 10.15 a.m. at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa theatre today.Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot along with Prince Charles, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Secretary General of the Commonwealth Nations Kamlesh Sharma will be speaking at the opening of the Commonwealth Leaders Summit in Colombo today.

Prime Minister Abbot as the Former Chairman of the Commonwealth will speak on the topic Commonwealth's enduring values. The Prince of Wales is expected to meet Premier Tony Abbot and other Commonwealth leaders, who have been elected since last CHOGM at a function today.

Prince Charles has kicked off the Commonwealth summit at a colourful opening ceremony in Sri Lanka, declaring his "admiration" for the way the country has rebuilt after a devastating tsunami in 2004. Reflecting on the Boxing Day disaster that killed 35,000 Sri Lankans, the Prince of Wales, who last flew to the country weeks after the tsunami struck, said: "I visited communities affected by the disaster and met many of the relief workers, who were doing so much to help rebuild broken lives and livelihoods. "I recall my admiration for the fortitude shown by them all and commend the progress that has been made since in healing those dreadful scars."

 Held at an enormous lotus-shaped theatre in Colombo, the opening ceremony involved musicians and traditional dancers and included a performance featuring a giant shell. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his wife Shiranthi welcomed officials from Commonwealth countries

The Heads of Government and their representatives posing for the Official Photograph today at The Opening Ceremony of The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), in Nelum Pokuna, Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, Colombo, 

The Prince of Wales Celebrates 65th Birthday

The Britain's Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall Sir Charles Philip Arthur George will represent the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth in the CHOGM opening ceremony, and will host other Commonwealth events including a reception for business leaders and a dinner for Heads of Government at Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond)-Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre and at BMICH in Colombo yesterday (14th November).

The 65th birthday of Prince Charles was celebrated at the President's House yesterday with the Sri Lankan President. The Prince and the Lady Camilla Parker were treated with traditional Sri Lankan sweetmeats too. First Lady, Foreign Diplomats, Ministers, Secretary Defence Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa were also joined at the birthday celebrations.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in SL

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales arrived  in Sri Lanka for the opening of CHOGM . He is joined on his three day visit by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall. At a reception to be held to mark His Royal Highness' birthday he will meet a range of people from Sri Lankan society. The garden at Westminster House, the venue for the party, hosts a small organic market, at which The Prince and Duchess will view local produce and learn about farming in Sri Lanka.                                                   
The Prince represents The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth in the CHOGM opening ceremony, and will host other Commonwealth events including a reception for business leaders and a dinner for Heads of Government, says the British High Commission in Colombo. He will then spend Saturday in the hill country. In Kandy he will be visiting the iconic Temple of the Tooth, the British Garrison Cemetery and the historic Peredeniya Botanical Gardens. Moving on to Nuwara Eliya, he will see visit the Labookellie tea estate and see the inspiring work of a British man and his Sri Lankan wife at a school for children with disabilities.

Challenge or Opportunity for Sri Lanka

 Sri Lanka has a number of astute ideas on youth empowerment that could benefit other countries. One example is the model and structure of the Sri Lankan National Youth Parliament and the structure of the Federations of Youth Clubs. Currently, these are two of the best youth engagement, empowerment and leadership models in the world.

Sri Lanka also has the opportunity to use its role as Chair-in-Office of a body comprising 54 nations to actively charter a course of international engagement, building new friendships and alliances and reinforcing existing ones. More important, Sri Lanka can use its leadership to reach out to hostile countries and resolve concerns and misconceptions.

Closely related to this should be a strategy to project the giant strides that the country and its government have made in just four years since the conclusion of the debilitating armed struggle in 2009. The Sri Lankan government would be wise to see the projected presence of more than 3,000 journalists and media personnel not as a challenge, but rather as an opportunity to showcase the country’s strength and resilience.

CHOGM has provided an unprecedented opening for political forces within Sri Lanka to unite in the national interest: The main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP) supports the event. This agreement should be used as a platform for further constructive engagement between ideologically disparate political groups.

In four years, the government of Sri Lanka has embarked upon a massive demining and resettlement process. This was done with the support of international agencies and foreign governments. Today, the demining process is nearing completion and almost all internally displaced persons – around 300,000 people – have been resettled. Psycho-social programs have been established and vocational training centers opened in each welfare village, to fully reintegrate former combatants, among them 595 child soldiers. Loans and employments were also provided.

These efforts have paved the way for the successful holding of council elections in the Northern province for the first time since 1987. This historic political event, which took place in September 2013, saw an impressive voter turnout of 67.52 percent, rekindling hope for empowerment of the nation’s minority communities.

The economic progress and infrastructure development in the Northern part of the country – a previously barren region that was under siege by terrorist elements – has been widely hailed. Inadequate infrastructure had been a considerable bottleneck in the country’s economic progress over the past several decades, especially in the North. The recent development of infrastructure as a means to improve connectivity and reduce the disparities between the South and the North is thus praiseworthy. Since 2009, the country has seen rapid and widespread development within both rural and urban areas.

A re calibration of the power balance and relationships between the Northern and Southern regions is beginning to emerge. Perhaps the potential dividends from hosting CHOGM and its parallel forums will consolidate domestic stability for Sri Lanka once and for all, while boosting its international position.

The SL needs to seize the opportunities offered by CHOGM 2013

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) comes to Sri Lanka in November 2013 for the first time. The event is also historic for another reason: It is the second largest summit of world leaders to gather in Sri Lanka since the country gained independence, behind only the Non-Aligned Summit in 1976.

Yet even with preparations for this milestone underway, the challenges that Sri Lanka faces in the international arena continues. It is beyond dispute that Sri Lanka’s three-decade conflict was externalized through the combination of factors that ranged from the presence of an active diaspora, the involvement of foreign facilitators in the peace process, and the presence of foreign peacekeeping forces in 1987. By the end of the war, Sri Lanka was very much on the international radar. This international attention has spilled over into the country’s postwar phase as well, but now has taken on new meaning.

Most of the country's postwar bilateral and multilateral engagements are haunted by the specter of reconciliation and human rights concerns. Yet human rights and inter-communal harmony are not alien to Sri Lanka, the values of which are enshrined in its shared history, its cultures and its legal frameworks. But the country will need to capitalize and draw on these strengths to forge a robust system of governance that can function with independence and credibility. It must have the structures and norms in place to respond domestically to every allegation made. Acting on the outcomes of the two national processes – the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and the National Human Rights Action Plan – would demonstrate that homegrown mechanisms can credibly provide solutions, while improving foreign relations and prospects.

It ought to be remembered that for all the flak Sri Lanka has attracted, CHOGM 2013 presents enormous opportunities, directly flowing from hosting the summit itself and deriving from the international credibility the event can restore to Sri Lanka more generally. The government must take seriously the opportunities that CHOGM brings to the country and its peoples, who have suffered brutally from the three-decade conflict that concluded in May 2009.

As is customary, Sri Lanka will take up the mantle of leadership of the Commonwealth for the two years following CHOGM 2013, until the next CHOGM in Mauritius in 2015. This opportunity, if embraced, could also reap enormous dividends for the country’s international relations and positioning.

Moreover, among the forums that will accompany CHOGM, the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) is a unique gathering of business leaders from developed and emerging markets that aims to promote trade and investment. CBF 2013 will focus on the theme, “Partnering for Wealth Creation and Social Development: The Commonwealth, Indian Ocean, Pacific and SAARC.” That presents a tremendous opportunity for Sri Lanka to look for new partnerships and opportunities. Typically, at every CBF the host country benefits most; for instance, $10 billion in deals were sealed for Australia at CBF 2011 in Perth. For Sri Lanka, a $2 billion opportunity is projected for CBF 2013.

The global private sector looks for certainty of policy and broad governance structures for enabling investment. Sri Lanka has demonstrated consistency in these two aspects, hence private sector investment ought to be forthcoming, notably from the country’s diaspora.

Another forum, the 9th Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF9) will run from November 10 to 14, 2013 in Hambantota, bringing together over 200 young people from around the Commonwealth. The CYF9 forum will mark the formal beginning of the Commonwealth Youth Council as the official voice for young people in the Commonwealth and will host the first General Assembly of the Council. The forum will also be a stepping-stone for the World Conference on Youth to be held in Sri Lanka in May 2014. This is an exciting time to be a youth advocate in the Commonwealth.

Spice and herbal exports to EU increase

Sri Lanka's spice and herbal product exports have grown steadily over the years, said Head of Mission, European Union (EU), David Daly at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Spice Council last week. He said that the EU imports around 28,500 tonnes of spices from developing countries and added that imports from Sri Lanka is on the rise.

“Sri Lanka's spices have great demand in the EU. The country should focus on exporting more valued added products to enhance export revenue. Exporting to the EU is challenging.

Exporters should focus on quality products. The food and heath standard in the region is high,” Daly said. He said that despite all these challenges it will still be rewarding if exporters adhere to trade regulations of the EU and boost export of value added products to the region.

The EU is a major market for Sri Lankan spices. Exports to the region have grown 11 percent year-on-year. Export revenue from spices to the EU was US$ 236 million last year which was a 55 percent growth compared to the previous year.Spice Council, Chairman, Sarada de Silva said that the industry is optimistic of a better fourth quarter with improved weather and global market conditions. Spice exports last year grew by a round six percent.

Export revenue slumped early this year due to adverse weather conditions. Exports of cinnamon, pepper, cloves, essential oils and other spice products did well last year. De Silva said that the percentage of value addition has increased and the country exports organic essential oils, oleo resins, flavours of most spices and herbal products.

The Council called upon the government to accede to the Madrid and Lisbon agreements which will help Sri Lankan companies in branding and registering trademarks.

Country's capital market will rise

Sri Lanka's capital market will develop in the near future as the country is now stable, while investor confidence is growing, said Bank of Ceylon (BoC), Chairman Razik Zarook at the launch of the Rs. 4 billion long-term BoC debenture issue in Colombo last week.

Responding to a query on issues in Sri Lanka's capital market, liquidity and secondary market issues of debentures, he said that there is development in the capital market and new instruments and new investors are coming in and, therefore, intervention in the market is not necessary.

The BoC debenture issue which opens tomorrow and is one of the largest debenture issues of any commercial bank in the country.Senior Deputy General Manager, International, Treasury and Investment of BoC, P.A. Lionel said that according to market investigations the debenture will be oversubscribed by 200% and the bank expects over Rs.15 billion in subscriptions mainly from local institutional investors.

“We encourage individual subscribers too to invest but the main subscribers will be the corporates with excess liquidity,” he said.He said that this debenture issue will portray BoC's strength, increase its tier-two capital and help to fulfill the long-term financial needs of the bank and invest in long-term projects such as infrastructure development of the economy. Investors know our strength and we are the number one commercial bank in the country in all criteria, we have an over one trillion asset base and our two recent bond issues were also oversubscribed by eight times and six times, he said.

This unsecured, subordinated and redeemable debentures have maturity periods ranging from 5-10 years. The debentures have been rated AA (Lanka) by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd.This issue is an opportunity for the public to invest their money at minimum risk in the present volatile market. The Rs. 4 billion issue with an option to increase it to eight billion in the event of over-subscription, consists of nine debenture types of various fixed and floating coupon rates with tenors between 5-10 years.

This is an ideal investment option for long term investors concerned over interest rates. Another advantage of investing debentures is that they are exempt from withholding and corporate taxes, Lionel said.

Mapping Child Abuse in Sri Lanka

There is a high incidence of child sexual abuse and exploitation occurring in Sri Lanka. The current trend in the country shows that there is lack of parental care and awareness which has led to abuse among children. In majority of the cases, the perpetrator is a close family member or a person well known to the family. According to the Deputy Solicitor General, nearly 45% of the cases heard in the higher courts in the country were estimated to be related to child abuse pointing at a high incidence of the problem in the country. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that parents and family members are made aware of situations where a child would be unsafe. It is also essential that remedial measures are taken when high risk or vulnerable family situations are identified.

Godakumbura workshop with children and parents in Sri Lanka

In the backdrop of this situation, Kantha Shakthi (KS) has developed an intervention which seeks to protect children abused due to vulnerable conditions at home. The intervention aims at sensitising field officers, grassroots level administrators, Community Based Organizations and Public Health Midwives on identifying vulnerable families and taking measures to prevent child abuse in these families.

KS believes that field officers and Public Health Midwives working at the grassroots level, visiting families to carry out their day to day activities, is the best target group to raise awareness on how to identify high risk and vulnerable families where children are at the risk of being abused. The specific activity of the programme is to raise awareness among field officers and midwives attached to Local Government (LG) Institutions to identify vulnerable families and taking preventive action to protect children of such families from being abused. Although it is very difficult for local NGOs to carry out such intervention, KS has been successfully able to enter into this arena through this programme and has been well appreciated by the Local Government now who support and recognise KS as a potential organisation.

Previously, field officers attached to LG institutions presented practical issues that they faced while dealing with vulnerable families and children from high risk families. They were not aware of the action that was required to overcome this situation. After the training programme they were able to identify the relevant officer or institution that they should link with in order to solve these issues. For e.g. midwives attached to the office of MoH did not know that they could link with the Social Service Officer at the Divisional Secretariat to solve issues related to children.

With the help of the training programme, now there has been greater awareness among filed officers on how to identify vulnerable families and on actions to prevent child abuse. They are now aware of other government institutions to link up with to solve issues of children at high risk of being abused. As a result, KS also gets requests from Local Government Institutions from other areas to conduct similar programmes. 

My Caring Family is My First Right "SAAGN"

SAAGN Alliance led Regional Communication Campaign on "My Caring Family is My First Right" was launched on 1st June 2013 to raise awareness on Family as the first place where children can see their rights. SAAGN launched the campaign through an online petition on www.change.org on 1st June 2013 as its first initiative to launch the campaign. http://chn.ge/13pA6pp. The petition has been signed by more than 12,000 individuals all across the world.

In India, Don Bosco Ashalayam, Delhi organized a Letter writing and Drawing com-petition involving 150 children depicting their ideas, love and the role of the family, after which they also organized an interactive session with children along with distribu-tion of posters and bumper stickers in the local community. J.N. Bal Nikunj Samiti, Lakhimpur- Kheri, UP on the other hand organized a painting competition on the theme ‘Importance of family for children’ with 38 children. Open Learning Systems, Orissa and Mahila Development Centre, Bihar organized Rallys with children who disseminated posters and bumper stickers produced as a part of the campaign collat-erals by Butterflies, Delhi. Shreyas, Kerala, organized a workshop with 50 children through which they carried out interactive sessions and group work with children. They also conducted school campaigning programmes in four schools in the tribal areas of Waynad district with 800 children and 40 teachers who actively took part in putting up posters in the school premises as well as the near by areas. Sadhbhabna, Keonjar organised a rally with 70 children in Prayas, a school for differently abled children in Naranpur, Keonjar in Orissa. In September, they also organised a debate competi-tion with children on “Is a Caring Family A Child’s first right” in which more than 100 children took part.

Likewise, in Sri Lanka, Kantha Shakthi Organization (KSO), organised a workshop on 12th August, 2013 for officers working at the grassroots level at the Divisional Secretariat (DS) office to identify and strengthen vulnerable families in Badaragama village in Kalutara district. A total no. of 125 participants comprising of Child rights promotion officers, Village Sub Divisions head, Welfare scheme officers, Development Officers and Field Officers took part in the workshop. Five Awareness Raising Work-shops for parents and children were organised in the months of August and Septem-ber in Damhana, Godakumbura, Happugasthena, Panana, Walakadagama in Balangoda respectively. The workshops mainly focused on facilitating group discus-sions among children and adults who discussed about the various issues they confront in their daily lives owing to the pressure of economic and social instabilities ranging from lack of job opportunities for parents to harmful practices like child marriage.

Meanwhile, in Nepal, Child Nepal organised a National workshop on “My Family is my First Right” on 18th– 19th August, 2013. The objective of the workshop was to sensitize government agencies on child rights issues, to promote advanced and posi-tive changes in the implementation of policies and legislations. A total of 66 partici-pants from various government and non government institutions like National Human Rights Commission, Central Children’s Welfare Board, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women, Child and Social Welfare, Women and Children Cell of police, other non governmental institutions, media persons etc. took part in the workshop. Five presen-tations on thematic areas like Child Marriage, Trafficking, Sexual Abuse and Exploita-tion, Corporal Punishment and Child Labour were also presented during the workshop. The discussions were further incorporated in the recommendations put forth by the Nepal chapter during the SAAGN regional consultation held later in the same month.

In Bangladesh, Art competitions were organized by two organizations, Come to Work (CTW), Dinajpur and Centre for Rights and Development –CRD, Panchaghra on 22nd and 17th August, 2013 respectively. The art competitions were held with the objective of spreading larger awareness among school functionaries, children and parents. Further, discussion group meeting were organised by three alliance partners, namely; Hitaishi Bangladesh, Dhaka, Jhikor Gacha Development Organization (JDO), Jessore and Manob Kallyan O Samajik Unnyan Sangstha, Khulna on 3rd, 24th and 25th August, 2013 respectively. The meetings were conducted to carry our preparatory discussions on the thematic issues concerning children. The recommen-dations from the meetings were formulated and presented at the Kathmandu regional consultation. Parents meetings were organized by Jhikor Gacha Development Or-ganization (JDO), Jessore, Mayer Anchol, Khulna and Manob Kalyan O Samajik Unnyan Sangsths, Khulna on 19th August, 8th September and 22nd September 2013 respectively. The meetings provided a platform for Urban parents, social activist and child leaders to discuss issues concerning children. Work and Rural Develop-ment (WARD), Jessore organized a workshop on 15 August 2013 for sensitizing the Department of Local Administration on Child Rights and the importance of child sensitive policies and legislations supporting Children’s act 1974. Manob Kalyan O Samajik Unnyan Sangsthan, Khulna also organised a Folk Song competition em-phasizing upon the relevance of child rights in urban and semi– urban areas.

In Afghanistan, the Campaign on Children Rights to the Family was spread exten-sively through SMSs, the company Roshan telecommunications reached out to 3 million people through broadcasting these messages written by children. Five such messages like, “Children should not be deprived of love, respect and compassion,” “Families should treat boys and girls equally,” were selected out of 25 messages written by children from Aschiana on 21st July 2013 in Kabul City.

On 25th September 2013 ,Aschiana, as a part of the Campaign organised a painting and Art Exhibition in which 400 children participated. The paintings exhibited were selected from painting competitions held with children in four provinces,Kabul, Mazar Sharif, Herat and Gardiz in Afghanistan. Children who participated in the event were interviewed and were motivated to express their views on importance of a caring family. The programme was broadcasted National Radio and TV channels. 

SL - India to sign MOU for Handloom, Powerloom and Textiles

India and Sri Lanka will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the Development of SMEs in Handloom, Powerloom and Textiles on 9 September 2013,  . The MoU will be signed by Mrs. Zohra Chatterji, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and Mr. Anura Siriwardena, Secretary, Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Government of Sri Lanka.

Mrs Zohra Chatterji is leading an official and business delegation to Sri Lanka from 6-10 September for talks to enhance cooperation in the field of powerloom, handloom and textiles. During her visit she would call on Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development and Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry & Commerce and have meetings with Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Planning and Mr Anura Siriwardena, Secretary, Ministry of Industry & Commerce. She would also meet members of Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF).

The visit of Mrs Chatterji also coincides with the inauguration of “India International Fabric Expo-2013” (IIFE-2013). This event is being organized by Powerloom Development Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) with the support of the Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the High Commission of India at Hotel Galadari from 8-10 September, 2013. The inauguration ceremony on 9 September, 2013 will be graced by Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development and Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, H.E. Y. K. Sinha, High Commissioner of India and other dignitaries from Indian & Sri Lanka. 53 leading companies from India in the powerloom, handloom and textiles sector are participating in the IIFE-2013. PDEXCIL is also organizing a fashion show in the evening of 9 September, 2013 at Hotel Galadari. 

SAAGN's Kathmandu Summit for South Asia's Prosperity

South Asian Alliance of Grassroots is a coalition initiated in 2007 under the leadership of Butterflies India in unison with 4 leading NGOs from South Asian Countries –Aschiana in Afghanistan, Aparajeyo in Bangladesh, CWSN in Nepal and Kantha Shakti in Sri Lanka for the protection and promotion of child rights. Currently 139 grassroots NGOs from the five countries have joined in the effort of SAAGN. Acknowledging that two decades after the Summit World Fit for Children impressive gains have been made regarding children’s status by the South Asian countries. Today more children are at school, more children are better off than they were a decade ago, many more children are healthier today, are likely to see their fifth birth day and have higher hopes than the generation that came before them. Nevertheless, these achievements and gains have been uneven and below the expected progress.

 Participants from members’ countries 

SAAGN- the South Asian alliance of 139 NGOs from five nations-Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka- for the protection and promotion of child rights in the region reiterates the above through the recent research conducted as a part of the project‘ Civil Society Alliance for Child Rights in South Asia’. Literacy rate in South Asia still remains at 58.4%, with Afghanistan (39%) recording a level lower than the regional average. Literacy level was also uneven across gender groups and regions. More than 90% of children are enrolled in school. But those who complete V grade are much lower indicating a high dropout rate. 

The quality of education too still remains dismally low. Survival of the child poses a major threat to children in South Asia.  The MDG target for 2015 on reduction in infant mortality rate, increased skilled birth attendance and ante natal care are likely to be missed by most of the countries in the region. While only Bangladesh is on track to achieve the target in the former, only Sri Lanka is likely to reach the target in the latter. Nepal has also been able to fulfil its MDG Targets. Similarly, under-5 Mortality and Maternal Mortality rate targets are elusive to Afghanistan and India. Most of the South Asian countries are well either on track or have achieved the target for improved drinking water source. Nevertheless, except Sri Lanka all the others are either off the track or need to make additional efforts to achieve the effective sanitation systems in their respective countries.

Poverty too remains aggressive in South Asia with only Sri Lanka reporting headway towards the MDG target. Apart from the above, survival and developmental issues, children are victims of a number of crimes. The study reports the presence of millions of children missing, on streets, in child labour (44 Million), with disabilities (42 million), trafficked, victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, early marriage, in armed conflict and in conflict with law. The figures presented in the study could be considered only as a tip of the ice berg as most of these crimes go under reported. Child participation in governance also remains at a minimal level in the region with most being in a programmatic manner. Subsequently, based on the recommendations and action plans that emerged out of the Kathmandu Consultation in August 2013, we the members of SAAGN along with civil society members, Trade Union members, Media representatives resolve to undertake the following:

    1.Taking note of the precarious conditions of children in the region, SAAGN and civil society members from the five countries reaffirm their commitment to the protection and promotion of child rights  and resolve to make the region fit for children with an accentuated effort to mitigate the specific survival, developmental and protection issues faced by all children in particular, children who are differently abled and marginalized across the region.

                                                    

2.Recognising family as the institution to be strengthened for ensuring a better survival, development and protection for children, SAAGN pledges to work towards to support marginalised and vulnerable families through designing and implementing family strengthening programmes in partnership with grassroots NGOs and local and state level governments. Moreover, we appeal to the national governments that no policies or programmes shall in any way infringe on the family fabric of the society and shall instead enhance their efforts in strengthening families so as to create a safe environment for children.

3. Concerned at the lack of data related to the aforementioned issues SAAGN members resolve to collate and document the data related to these issues in partnership with research organisations and institutions in their respective areas. Moreover, the members appeal to the national governments to put in place mechanisms for  collation of data and tracking  of  birth and marriage registrations, children and family migration at all levels i.e., village, provincial, state and national.  SAAGN will endeavour to develop measurable indicators of social, economic and cultural rights of children.

4. SAAGN website would have a special section on its website, with a collation of all legislations in the region pertaining to child rights. SAAGN would also make efforts to disseminate information and knowledge materials to journalists across the region.

5. Welcoming the existence of various legislations to ensure the rights of children, the members wish to advocate for their review in order to bridge the gaps and make it in the best interest of the child.

6. To advocate for an enactment for a special legislation to prevent sexual offence against children in countries where it does not already exist.

7. To lobby for establishing minimum standards and strengthen the quality of care services for the recovery and reintegration of child victims and adequate compensation and rehabilitation services.

8.     We express serious concern over the violations of rights of children in conflict with law and those in need of care and protection. SAAGN appeals to the national governments to review the existing juvenile justice system, and make appropriate modification for the best interests of the children keeping in mind the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Beijing Rules for administration of juveniles in conflict with law.

9.  We consider strict enforcement of legislations as one of the effective measures to prevent crimes against children. Subsequently, the members resolve to monitor various cases related to children and make advocacy and networking along with public outcry to ensure proper enforcement of the laws in favour of children.

10.  We urge all the governments in the region to review the budgetary allocations for programs for children, especially in education, life skills education and health care and in implementation of the various laws and putting in place infrastructure so as to ensure maximum benefit to all children.

11. To encourage National governments to implement sustainable anti-poverty programs, this is part of their stated national plans of action and to periodically review the implementation of the same.

12.  Document Best Practices in the region and disseminate the same to NGOs, civil society organisations and government to adapt some of these Best Practices in their countries.

13.  Advocate with the government to have special Police Units for Children across the region.

14.  To dialogue with national governments to establish Child helpline services with the same calling number (1098) across the region.

15.  Wherever there is an absence of Child Rights commissions, to advocate for the same.

16. Emphasising that children are better spokespersons for themselves, the Alliance resolves to make every effort through lobbying and advocacy to ensure age appropriate and informed participation of children in governance. We wish to engage children in meaningful and critical examination of changing contemporary values and norms along with the various exploitations experienced by them so as to design and develop strategies to prevent abuse and protect their childhood.

17.  SAAGN is committed to work towards facilitating a resource pool of legal professionals in each of the member countries as defenders of child rights at the ground level. The vision that SAAGN envisages is to build ‘lawyers without borders’- a dedicated group of lawyers who work closely with grassroots NGOs and take up cases for children pro bono.

18.  SAAGN, in its coming phase, looks forward to working closely with Local Self Government functionaries, teachers,  law enforcement functionaries, judiciary, trade unions, media especially community radio and local television channels to take forward child rights agenda and can help in functioning as watch dogs at the local and national level. Strengthen and capacitate all protection agencies to ensure that children’s rights are protected and guaranteed at the community level.

19.  We also propose a structured sensitization and awareness programme for our legislators/policy makers across the region.

20. Welcoming the initiatives taken by SAIVEC, UNICEF and other UN agencies, INGOs for preventing atrocities against children, the Alliance extends its support to these agencies in creating a child friendly South Asia.

21. SAAGN will  make efforts to work towards partnering with more grassroots NGOs in the region including Pakistan, Bhutan and Maldives.

SAAGN decides and resolves to create South Asia a child friendly region by attempting to ensure for every child, the best possible start to life; better survival, better education, protection, growth and development in good health and proper nutrition; making concerted efforts to prevent all acts of crimes against children, abuse, exploitation, discrimination and thus building a safe environment for them that enables them to be physically healthy, mentally alert, emotionally secure and socially competent. Confident of change we as one body pledge to build for children a world where every girl and boy is assured of their childhood; where their hopes are rekindled; where they are educated; where their rights are protected; where they are dignified and respected; where their voices are heard and where they enjoy dignified life. SAAGN will work towards having a follow up to this consultation to record the progress on this resolution by the alliance, civil society organisation. 

A mandamus to stop the ritual animal slaughter in Munneswaram

The Court of Appeal yesterday empowered the IGP and the police authorities in Chilaw to prevent the slaughter of animals at the Munneswaram Kovil in Chilaw, if those administering the kovil violated the Butchers’ and Cruelty to Animals’ Ordinances. The Court issued a Writ of Mandamus (mandatory order) directing the IGP, the DIG of Police, Puttalam District, Senior Superintendant of Police and the OIC of the Chilaw Police Station, to take all necessary action, as permitted by law, to prevent the slaughter of animals, defined in the Butchers’ Ordinance, at Sri Badra Kali Amman Kovil, Munneswaram, Chilaw if M. Kanegaratnam, K. Shivapakyasuntheram and Mahendra Samy, at the Kovil, did not possess a licence under the Butchers’ Ordinance and/or if they violated the provisions of the Butchers’ Ordinance.

Slaughtering animals on the kovil premises 

The Court also gave a similar direction to the police to prevent the slaughter of animals, defined in the Cruelty to  Animals Act, at the same Kovil, if they violated the Provisions of the Cruelty to Animals Act. The judgment was by Justice Sisira J. De Abrew with Justice Deepali Wijesundera and Justice Sunil Rajapakshe agreeing. Delivering the order, the Court of Appeal explained that fowls had been killed in the years 2009 and 2010, at the Sri Badrakali Kovil, Munneswaram Chilaw, in an unnecessary manner, and that Kalimuttu Shivapakyasuntheram and Mahendra Samy, of the aforesaid kovil, had violated Section 4 of the Cruelty to Animals Act. "There is no guarantee by the aforesaid two respondents and M. Kanagaratnam, of the same kovil, that they would not violate the same provisions at the next festival season.

"If they violate Section 4 or any other provision of the Cruelty to the Animals Act, the police will be entitled to prevent the violation," the Court said. The Court also held that the person who killed animals and/or the person who turned the carcasses of the animals into meat, in the kovil premises, carried on the trade of a butcher. The judgement explained that the respondents, Kalimutthu and Mahendra Samy, admitted that animal sacrifices took place within the Kovil premises. "This showed that the animals were killed in the kovil premises. The aforesaid two respondents and respondent Kanagaratnam had been offering alms, by using animal flesh. These respondents had carried on the trade of a butcher.

"They should obtain a licence under the provisions of the Butchers’ Ordinance, if they continue to kill animals in the kovil premises, and if they continue to turn carcasses of animals into meat," the Court said. The court added that the permitting of the slaughter of animals on the occasion of any religious festival or other special event was in the hands of a proper authority, and not in the hands of the priest of the Kovil or a person in charge of the festival. Thus, the priest of the Kovil or person in charge of a festival cannot, after killing the animals, took up the defence that he did it on the occasion of any religious festival if the proper authority, had not published a notice under Section 17(1) if the Butchers’ Ordinance.

"Section 17 of the Butchers’ Ordinance was not enacted. A licensed butcher can kill animals, even on Vesak or Poson Poya Day or any Poya Day and can take up the position that he does so by virtue of the licence granted to him. Such a situation can be avoided by taking steps under Section 17(1)," Court said. Among petitioners who had complained of cruelty to animals at the kovil premises were the Sri Bodhiraja Foundation, Embilipitiya, Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya of Rajagiriya, Olcott Gunesekera, the President of Dharamavijaya Foundation, Venerable Bandirippuwe Vineetha Thero, Irangani de Silva, Chairperson of Animal Welfare Trust and several others. L. R. de Silva, Raja dep, Suren de Silva and Chinthaka Rankothge appeared for the petitioners. Deputy Solicitor General Parinda Ranasinghe, appeared for the IGP. President’s Counsel A. R. Surendran appeared with M. Jude Dinesh and K. Kadeepan for K. Shivapakyasuntheram of the Kovil. 

The largest ever 100 kg of heroin in South Asia arrested in Sri Lanka

  Heroin Powder

A large stock of 100 kg of heroin was seized by Narcotics Bureau of Sri Lanka Police and Sri Lanka Customs from a cargo container which had arrived in Sri Lanka from Pakistan, officials said Friday. The discovery was made when a container, declared to be containing lubricants, was inspected at the Custom Clearing Section at Orugodawatta, Colombo.  100 kilograms of heroin found are the largest ever heroin haul seized in South Asia. The value of the stock is estimated at one billion rupees.

Customs Director Mali Piyasena said that the containers were seized on suspicion and sent to a container yard for checking.  Police Narcotics Bureau says that they were looking for the container for two months and finally discovered it from the Orugodawatta yard. The container is being searched for more drugs. The customs department said that two people, including a Pakistani national, had been arrested over the incident for further intorogation..  

Meanwhile, Indian enforcement agencies last year sounded an alert on drug cartels using India as a transit point for smuggling heroin to Sri Lanka, where the demand for heroin has doubled. Sri Lanka has become a transit point for heroin smuggling in South Asia mostly by heroin dealers from Pakistan and India.

18,000 and 26,000 square kms available for oil and gas exploration

An off shore oil and gas drilling site 

Six ultra-deep water blocks of area between approximately 18,000 and 26,000 square kilometers each around the country's coastline are available to be awarded outside the current bid round, said Sri Lanka's Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS).  Proposals from  Suitably experienced oil companies are  invited for oil and gas exploration,

These awards will be based on the experience and capability of the applicant along with their proposed work commitment, the PRDS exposed. The basic framework for the agreement is a 2 year period of exclusivity for data acquisition, processing and interpretation, followed by a further 1 year for discussions with the PRDC on potential next steps. The PRDS will hold a pre-bid clarification meeting in Colombo on August 29 to discuss the format for submission of bids, data purchase requirements, and availability of new data among others.

Sri Lanka has extended the deadline for bids until November 29 on 13 offshore blocks in the Cauvery and Mannar basins.PRDS held a Exploration and Production (E&P) symposium titled 'Sri Lanka Upstream 2013' in July and the representatives of top oil exploring firms like ONGC, Cairn, Total, Exxon Mobil, ENI, Shell, Schlumberger, Halliburton, CGG participated in it. Meanwhile the Director General of PRDS Saliya Wickramasuriya said the government is waiting for the early commercialization of the first discovery of Cairn Lanka, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of Indian oil explorer Cairn India.

According to the Director General Cairn Lanka, the only oil and gas explorer currently active in Sri Lanka is now refining their appraisal plan for the for the first two discoveries. Cairn Lanka, which made gas discoveries in two of the four exploration wells it drilled, has scheduled more wells in the Mannar Basin for the end of this year and the beginning of 2014. The Company said it continues to consider appraisal options for the gas discoveries made and evaluate Monetization of the existing discoveries under various development and commercial scenarios and plans to continue into exploration phase-III. Cairn Lanka said discussions with the Sri Lankan government regarding commercial terms and gas pricing are progressing.

Traditional police dog wedding in Sri Lanka condemned

Police hold a pair of sniffer dogs at a wedding 

Sri Lanka Police have come under severe criticism from cultural organizations as well as from the Minister of Culture and the Arts T. B. Ekanayake over a ceremony performed to wed  police dogs. Police "married" nine pairs of dogs on a platform decorated with white cloth and flowers in a ceremony resembling a traditional marriage. The "brides" wore mittens, shawls and hats while the "grooms" wore red ties. Police have defended the "wedding" saying that it was done to promote the domestic breeding of sniffer dogs. But in a statement they also apologised for their actions.

The Police, as part of the Police Canine Breeding Program, held a wedding ceremony on a Poruwa, a structure used for traditional Sinhala weddings, yesterday at the Asgiriya Grounds in Kandy to wed pairs of police dogs belonging to the Asgiriya Police Kennels. Veterinarians have presented "marriage certificates" to the dog couples certifying them suitable for breeding. The Minister of Culture and the Arts, T.B. Ekanayake condemned the wedding ceremony as damaging to the country's culture and requested the Inspector General of Police to conduct an immediate inquiry regarding the ceremony. Several organizations  expressed condemnation saying that it was an insult to the culture of the country.

But police say that the structure where the "weddings" were staged had nothing to do with Buddhism and that it was necessary to elevate the dogs so that they could be better photographed. "This did not in anyway resemble a poruwa and was simply placed there for the photo opportunity," the police said in the statement. Police have apologised for any offence caused to cultural and religious sensibilities - Sri Lanka is 75% ethnic Sinhalese and Buddhist.

They say that the "wedding" on Monday was intended to promote a programme to breed sniffer dogs domestically. Police told local media that in 2011 Sri Lanka spent 70m rupees ($526,000; £339,000) on importing police dogs from Netherlands. They said that the domestically-run breeding programme would not only keep this money in the country but would also produce dogs better suited to its climate.

Constables served milk rice and cake to about 1,000 guests at the specially decorated venue where the ceremony was held.The dog couples were driven off by police van to the hill resort of Nuwara Eliya for their "honeymoon". The event was held to commence the new program to breed police dogs within the country to save the cost of purchasing them from other countries.

Meanwhile, the Police Headquarters issuing a statement apologized for the event and said the Police Department had no intention of causing any insult to the Sri Lankan culture and expressed regret regarding any harm the activities of the inauguration ceremony of Police Canine Breeding Program may have caused to any cultural heritage or if it caused any person any discomfort.

Used ACs and Fridges are banned from importing

The importation of second hand air conditioners and refrigerators will be prohibited shortly to prevent ozone depleting substances entering the country because importing second hand air conditioners and refrigerators in bulk has become a severe obstacle to attempts by Sri Lanka to phase out ozone depleting substances in accordance with the Montreal Protocol to which Sri Lanka is a signatory since 1989.  Harmful gases such as Hydro Chloro Fluoro Carbon (HCFC) in these equipment contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer and Sri Lanka has targeted to phase out HCFC completely by 2030. The National Ozone Unit (NOU) promotes and encourages the use of electrical items containing ozone friendly gases and chemicals.

As developed countries are gradually shifting to environmental friendly modern technologies, these countries sell electrical goods produced using old technologies that contain ozone depleting substances at cheaper rates to developing countries. Certain local importers collect these items discarded by these countries and bring them to Sri Lanka. These items even though sold at cheaper rates in the market are outdated, not energy efficient and consume more power resulting in the increase in household electricity bills. Due to these reasons there is no long term benefit for the consumers from these second hand electrical items, especially air conditioners and refrigerators, adding that the wrong impression people have about these items should be changed.

Import restrictions and limitations for items that carry HCFC have been imposed in Sri Lanka since the beginning of this year.   The NOU is working to introduce a new green labeling system shortly for refrigerators and air conditioners with the coordination of Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) to cater to this purpose. Attention has also been paid towards introducing a star rating system to indicate the energy efficiency in them as presently done for the CFL bulbs. The NOU Director also pointed out that since the technology to dispose ozone depleting substances are not available in Sri Lanka, the discarded items should be sent to the USA incurring additional costs, adding that the USA not only charges money from the developing countries, but also gains carbon credit from this move.

Bank of Ceylon Awarded Asia’s Best Brand Award 2013

Bank of Ceylon was awarded Asia’s Best Brand award 2013 by the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai, India. Bank of Ceylon is the only Sri Lankan bank to receive this Asia’s Best Brand award in 2013 at the 4th CMO Asia Awards for Branding and Marketing held at Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore on the 31st July 2013. Asia’s Best Brand Awards are judged by the Global Research Cell of the CMO Council and this award was presented to Bank of Ceylon after evaluating its “Mind Share”, which indicates a brand’s strength inside the minds of customers, “Market share”, which shows a brand’s strength in the operating market in terms of customer’s buying behavior and “Commitment Share” which indicates a brand’s strength in encouraging customers to buy that brand in the future.

Bank of Ceylon Chief Marketing Officer Indunil Liyanage accepted this award on behalf of Bank of Ceylon at a prestigious ceremony which was attended by close to 200 well-known officials in the region including leaders and senior decision makers in the spheres of marketing and branding. The CMO Asia is represented in 35 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Australia. Other internationally renowned brands such as Malaysia Airlines, Samsung Electronics, Linkedin, Fuji Xerox, Globe Telecom, Master Card, Qatar Airways, Telecom Malaysia, Walmart Asia and The Jetstar Group are among Asia’s Best Brands. Now Bank of Ceylon is also in this international league. BOC has branches in Chennai, Male and banking operations in London. Bank of Ceylon Chairman, President’s Counsel Razik Zarook commented that “Brand Finance Lanka ranked Bank of Ceylon as the No: 01 brand for the last five consecutive years and the bank is also ranked among the top 1000 banks in the world above all other Sri Lankan banks (country ranking is No: 01) by “The Banker” magazine UK in 2013.

BOC has penetrated half of the population in the country with 10 million account holders with over 1,000 customer touch points covering all parts of the country. Bank of Ceylon is the only bank in Sri Lanka with an asset base of over Rs.1 trillion and is the market leader in the banking and financial services sector in Sri Lanka”. Bank of Ceylon General Manager Mr. D.M. Gunasekara stated that “BOC’s strategic marketing initiatives have enabled us to take the BOC brand forward and this award further establishes the strength of our brand. Bank of Ceylon is truly the No: 01 Bank in Sri Lanka and is among Asia’s Best Brands. At this juncture, I would like to thank our loyal customers, dedicated staff and all stakeholders who have supported us to elevate the BOC brand to great heights”. 

India in the "ProFood ProPack and Agbiz 2013, Sri Lanka

 The ProFood, ProPack and Agbiz 2013 was inaugurated at BMICH, Colombo. India is participating in the event as a partner country. This year, about 65 Indian companies are participating in the exhibition. The number of Indian companies in the exhibition has grown over the years.The Indian companies are showcasing a wide range of agro and food products, bakery & kitchen equipment, hotel equipment, packaging equipment & machinery, ready-to-eat snack foods, pulps, fruit juices, health foods, curry paste and chocolates, organic spices etc. The exhibition will provide an ideal opportunity for the food processing & packaging companies from India to partner with Sri Lankan companies to work together. The food processing industry holds immense potential for small-scale entrepreneurs.

 The Indian High Commissione Y. K. Sinha  met Indian exhibitors

The Indian companies are participating under the banner of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and from Kerala and other individual companies. APEDA is an apex body set up under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India for the development and promotion of export of agricultural products including Floriculture, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Processed Foods, Livestock Products, Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic beverages, cereal products etc. Under the banner of APEDA, around 20 Indian companies had successfully participated in the “Pro Food Pro Pack 2011”. APEDA pavilion was adjudged the best pavilion in the international category at the “Pro Food Pro Pack 2012”.

The Indian food industry has witnessed strong growth over the past few years. India is the second largest producer of food items. Currently, the Indian processed food market is estimated at US$ 121 billion, with the market growing at a rate of 10% per annum. The market is expected to reach US$194 billion by 2015. According to APEDA, Indian’s agro and processed food exports increased by 63% to reach US$16.96 billion in the first 10 months of 2012-13, as compared to US $ 10.39 billion in the corresponding period in 2011-12. The food processing industry in India has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 1,811.06 million during April 2000 to March 2013.