COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
In considering the position of lesbian and bisexual women see Women, for more
information about the status of women in Sri Lankan society.
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20. WOMEN
OVERVIEW
20.01 The UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women, Sri Lanka 332 , dated 4 February 2011, noted that: ―The Committee is
concerned that, although the State party ratified the Convention [UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)] in 1981, the
Convention has not yet been accorded the status of domestic law under the Constitution
or an Act of Parliament.‖
20.02 The same document 333 welcomed:
―(a) The enactment of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (2005);
―(b) The enactment of the Citizenship (Amendement) Act No. 16 of 2003 enabling a Sri
Lankan woman to transmit her citizenship to her child;
―(c) The Penal Code (Amendment) Act No. 16 of 2006 which includes a new definition
of the offence of trafficking in persons in line with the United Nations Convention
Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols and provision to impose
certain reporting obligations on incidents of child abuse; and
―(d) The establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and
Welfare,and the adoption of the Sri Lanka National Policy on Labour Migration which
has a focus on concerns of migrant women workers.
―The Committee also commends the State party‘s commitment to elaborate a National
Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights including a Thematic
Action Plan on Women.
―While welcoming the State party‘s commitment to elaborate a thematic action plan on
women, the Committee is concerned that the previous National Action Plan has never
been adopted. The Committee is also concerned about the delays in the adoption of the
bill establishing the National Commission on Women.‖
20.03 The UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women, Sri Lanka 334 also added:
332 UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Sri Lanka 332 , 4 February 2011 http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/cedaw/CEDAW-C-LKA-CO-7.pdf , date
accessed 25 May 2011, p2
333 UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Sri Lanka 333 , 4 February 2011 http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/cedaw/CEDAW-C-LKA-CO-7.pdf , date
accessed 25 May 2011, p2
334 UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Sri Lanka 334 , 4 February 2011 http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/cedaw/CEDAW-C-LKA-CO-7.pdf , date
accessed 25 May 2011, p4
134 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.