Colombo: A top UN envoy has underlined the need to speed up efforts to rehabilitate the former LTTE child soldiers, as Sri Lanka said it would consider them as victims and not prosecute them.
General (retd) Patrick Cammaert, the UN Special Envoy, said the child soldiers should be returned to their families as soon as possible.
"Best practices in other parts of the world show that children recover better from traumatic experiences when living with their loved ones," Cammaert told reporters here yesterday while concluding a five-day visit to Sri Lanka.
The Tamil Tiger rebels, who were defeated by the military in the ethnic conflict in May, used thousands of children in their fight for an independent state for the minority Tamils.
"The UN Special Envoy General (retd) Patrick Cammaert stated the he had been reassured by (Sri Lankan) Attorney General Mohan Peiris that the children formerly associated with armed groups were considered as victims and that they would not to be prosecuted," a release said.
A UN body supported website 'Reliefweb' quoted him as saying that now that the dust is settling in post conflict Sri Lanka, "we have to seize all opportunities to help children affected by the conflict to move forward, heal their trauma and resume their precious childhood".
The UN Special envoy of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict was visiting the country to ascertain first hand the impact of the recent conflict on children.
Cammaert also followed-up on the recommendations of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, including the issue of children associated with armed groups, the website said.
During his visit, Cammaert met with government officials, civil society, UN agencies and NGOs in Colombo as well as with children and their care-givers in Batticaloa and Vavuniya.
"The Government of Sri Lanka is undertaking significant efforts to address the needs of internally displaced children and former child soldiers.
"However, more can and should be done. The United Nations and its partners are eager to support these efforts and to share their expertise in the best interest of the children concerned," he said, presenting the findings of his visit.
Cammaert spoke to children formerly associated with armed groups and their parents in several rehabilitation centres. He called for the length of their stay in the rehabilitation programmes to be balanced with the time that they were in ranks of the armed groups, the Reliefweb said.
"A girl who has spent 5 days with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who has lost her siblings and whose mother is sick should be allowed to go back home immediately," the envoy said.
According to the Paris Principles and guidelines on child demobilisation, the best option for children is the community based approach, Cammaert said.
The special envoy also welcomed the government's move to facilitate freedom of movement for the internally displaced population.
He commended the ongoing child protection programs for children carried out by the Commissioner-General for rehabilitation in collaboration with the UN.
Cammaert also emphasised that children and their communities need a safe protective environment in the zones of return, the website said.
"Demining and rebuilding infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, housing and child protection services must be prioritised," he said, adding the international community must urgently allocate adequate funds for such programmes.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 12, 2009, 18:44