IPEC Action in Sri Lanka
Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 1997, a National Steering Committee (NSC) was created in order to monitor the National Programme on Child Labour, which was launched in 1997. The NSC comprises 20 members, most of them social partners, including the NGO sector. The NSC is chaired by the Secretary of Labour.
Fifteen action programmes focusing on preventive measures, as well as the reintegration of child workers were implemented as part of the National Programme. IPEC engaged in direct interventions for preventing school drop-outs, trafficked children, including sexually exploited girls, child domestic workers, and plantation workers. Subsequently, six more action programmes got off the ground to bridge the Phase I approach, ending 2001, into Phase II, which was a more sector based one.
In the past few years, IPEC in Sri Lanka has moved from rather small and, isolated action programmes to more integrated initiatives within defined areas such as child trafficking, child domestic labour, and children affected by war. In 2002, IPEC started supportive measures for 1,000 ex-child combatants with financial support from AusAid, Norad and the US Department of Labour (USDOL). These activities were incorporated into vocational training and skills development for children in the North-Eastern Province, affected by war, which started at the beginning of 2004.
Overview of recently concluded projects
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