SRI LANKA: State cannot neglect duty to protect child sold in Kandy

Two days later, on March 28, the police by chance got a tip off, by an informant over the phone, that a child was being sold. The police rushed to the spot, and found a boy with injury marks on his body.

April 3, 2015

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information of an 8-year-old boy who was recently kidnapped, sold, and by chance rescued. However, by willfully neglecting their responsibilities, the court, the police, and the Probation Department have returned the boy to the very same vulnerable environment that saw the boy being kidnapped and traded. The life of the child is in peril. However, the Sri Lankan State, which, as per law, is the caretaker of children in Sri Lanka, has chosen to abdicate its responsibility. The case is symptomatic of the vulnerability of children in Sri Lanka, who have, in recent times, been increasingly subject to various forms of cruelty, such as: corporal punishment, exploitation, and physical and sexual abuse.

SRI LANKA State Cannot Neglect Duty to Protect Child Sold in Kandy by Thavam Ratna