P'ment Children's Caucus to meet next week

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Parliamentary Caucus for Children, which was established to address the issues concerning children of Sri Lanka, is due to meet on 21st September for the first time.

The caucus was created during the Seventh Parliament under the Chairmanship of the Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, and was revitalized on 03rd December 2015 for the Eighth Parliament. 

The primary objectives of this caucus include policy changes to introduce new policies for the well-being of children and regularly review and revise policies relevant to the well-being of all children, to coordinate with the different Ministries, Departments and Agencies working for children as well as to draw greater attention of state agencies and the public to the problems and issues facing children.

It also aims to review and revise existing laws pertaining to children to be responsive to child rights challenges and monitor the enforcement of law, to advocate for increase in necessary budgetary allocations and also to draw together the resources of government, civil society and the business community to address the challenges associated with improving the implementation of the rights of children and thereby, the quality of their life.

The UNICEF recently launched an appeal for the children of Sri Lanka due to the high rate of child malnutrition experienced in the country in the face of the economic crisis in the country.