CEDAW 48th Session: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka presented its combined 5th , 6th , and 7th periodic reports to the CEDAW Committee on the 26 January 2011. It's been nine years since Sri Lanka last submitted a report to the Committee, and in its introductory remarks the head of the delegation described the past period as one of severe challenges. The decade-long armed conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil (LTTE) ended in May 2009, and Sri Lanka has recently suffered a number of environmental disasters, events that have disproportionally affected the lives of women and children. In the context of these post-conflict challenges, the delegation welcomed Security Council Resolution 1325 and 1820.

Sri Lanka ratified CEDAW in 1981 and its Optional Protocol in 2002. The delegation expressed the government's continued commitment to CEDAW, and addressed measures taken to promote women's rights, such as the National Action Plan for Human Rights, where one thematic focus is on women. Other lines of current work focuses on economic development, restorative justice through a Reconciliation Committee, and initiatives to strengthen the rule of law. The delegation however underlined the difficulties of the post-conflict stage, especially in relation to the thousands of Internationally Displaced Persons (IDP:s) within the country, and the continued efforts to include all ex-combatants in programs of rehabilitation, reconciliation, and reintegration.

In its introductory statement, the delegation highlighted several issues of special concern to the government; low participation of women in politics, abuse of female migrant workers, women's high unemployment rates, and the need to economically empower rural women. The different forms of violence against women in Sri Lanka is another prioritized issue in which the delegation expressed its awareness of the urgent need to strengthen Sri Lanka's legal framework and improve implementation to facilitate women's access to justice. A recent emerging political concern is discrimination against female-headed households, to which the government has initiated assistance programmes. The delegation concluded by stating that the government is satisfied with the achieved progress but is deeply aware of the remaining work.