2023-12-18
News Categories : Committee News
The report to be submitted to the Parliament regarding the issues and recommendations related to the safety and care of children between the ages of 0-5 years of working women in Sri Lanka was considered in the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Children, Women, and Gender. It was discussed in the Sectoral Oversight Committee that the impact on the growing child of 0-5 years of age without mother's care will have a huge social impact in the next 20-25 years.
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Children, Women and Gender met on 08.12.2023 at the Parliament Premises under the chairmanship of the Member of Parliament Hon. Talatha Athukorala.
According to Ministry Circular No. 02/2023, permission has been given for mothers with children aged 02 and above to go abroad, thereby the child loses the ability to receive breast milk, and the bond between mother and child is also lost, the committee emphasized.
Furthermore, it was discussed that the loss of the mother from a young age is likely to result in a very violent generation in the future, and because the children are deprived of care from a young age due to the mother moving abroad and there is a tendency for those children to be involved in drugs and other criminal activities in the future. It was also discussed that since children are under someone else's care, they can be molested not only by neighbors, but also by close relatives such as fathers and grandfathers.
It was emphasized that there is a strong need for daycare centers that operate based on safe and formal recommendations for children in early childhood.
It was further discussed that there is no specific institution for the regulation and supervision of daycare centers that daycare centers are not properly registered and the data related to daycare centers is very deficient.
The committee was of the opinion that the above problems can be avoided by following the provisions of the National Guidelines for Child Day Care Centers in Sri Lanka compiled and published by the National Child Protection Authority.
Accordingly, it was recommended by the sectoral Oversight Committee on Children, Women, and Gender relations to regulate the quality of daycare centers in Sri Lanka and to re-enforce the law that prevented mothers with children under the age of 05 from leaving for foreign employment.
The members of the Sectoral Oversight Committee, Hon. Muditha Prishanthi, Hon. Dullas Alahapperuma, Hon. D. Weerasinghe, Hon. Manjula Dissanayake, and with the permission of the Committee Chair Hon. J. C. Alawathuwala were present at the Committee.
Furthermore, officials representing the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment, National Child Protection Authority, Department of Probation and Child Care Services, National Secretariat for Early Childhood Development and a group of youth representatives appointed to the Sectoral Oversight Committee also participated in this meeting.
2026-06-19
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment focused its attention on the issue of water pollution in the Kelani River when it met in Parliament recently (10th June) under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi.During the meeting, the Committee was briefed on the progress of discussions being held with companies that have expressed willingness to invest in a project aimed at cleaning the waters of the Kelani River.The Committee also discussed a number of proposals and other issues raised by Hon. Members of Parliament.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
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A meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus was held in Parliament recently to discuss the importance of incorporating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s national budget formulation process and to examine the challenges associated with its implementation.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also participated in the discussion.A key concern raised during the discussion was the lack of adequate data and indicators to accurately assess and measure women’s economic contributions within the budgetary process. Drawing on examples of approaches adopted in India and other countries, members of the Caucus underscored the need to identify and address existing systemic and technical gaps in Sri Lanka’s budgeting framework.The Caucus also emphasized the importance of disaggregating data by gender in project reporting and strengthening digital data management systems to support such efforts. It was further noted that identifying relevant gender-related considerations at the initial stages of project design and implementation at the ministerial level would facilitate more effective project analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes.The need to move away from existing traditional and time-consuming methods towards formal online systems and data-driven analytical tools was also emphasized.The current progress and challenges in integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s public financial policy were discussed in detail during the meeting.It was also emphasized that such budgeting should not be limited to nominal percentages in documents, but that the need to establish a formal framework and data system to ensure it has a real and practical impact was also highlighted.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemalee Weerasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Co-Vice Chairpersons of the Caucus, Hon. Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Hon. Members of Parliament Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, Sagarika Athauda ,Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney at Law, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, also participated in the event.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met recently (Jun. 12) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a range of issues and proposals relating to their respective electorates, as well as several other matters of public importance.Hon. Members of Parliament and officials were present at the meeting.
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The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs met recently (Jun. 09) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a number of proposals and issues, including reviewing the progress of discussions initiated with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and the Department of Examinations regarding the formulation of regulations to prevent the conduct of private tuition classes on Sunday mornings, thereby facilitating the holding of Dhamma School classes on Sundays.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
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