During a ceremony to mark the World Day Against Child Labor which falls on June 12, held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena at the BMICH, yesterday (22) the President signed a declaration to combat child labor in Sri Lanka. The theme for this year's event is "End child labor in supply chains - It's everyone's business."

President also signed the pledge to declare Sri Lanka as a country free of child labor which was presented to him by the Director of the International Labor Organization for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Donglin Li.

The launch of the program to socialize the charter through SMS, to make Sri Lanka a zone devoid of child labor, also took place on the occasion.

Speaking at the event, the President said the rich, the powerful, smugglers, criminals, and terrorist movements usually exploit the children for labor and the attention should be paid to such people to eliminate child labor.

He said the maximum punishment that can be meted out for child exploiters is to expose them to society, rather than throwing them in jail. He added that it is the responsibility of the media to bring them before society and expose these persons and let everyone know who they are.

Although laws are being implemented to save the children, the President stressed that preventing child exploitation could not be done only through laws. He emphasized that the society also have to play a responsible role to overcome child exploitation.

"We need to strengthen the existing laws for the protection of our children. However, this cannot be solely undertaken by the law because society also has a responsibility to protect children," the President said.

He said as poverty increases in a country, more and more children will be used for child labor and his Government is firmly dedicated to eliminate poverty which is a common factor for exploiting child labor.

Condemning the use of children for labor, President Sirisena said, as a country adhering to the international conventions, Sri Lanka is working responsibly and discharging its duties on behalf of children.

A large gathering including students, ministers and diplomats were present at the event.