German Ambassador Jens Plötner congratulates Sri Lanka on progress on the issue of children in arme

The UN Secretary General’s annual report released recently stated that Sri Lanka had successfully completed the UN Security Council mandated programmes to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.

German Ambassador Jens Plötner congratulated Sri Lanka on achieving this milestone and has the following thoughts to share: “This is an achievement that removes a painful stain in the country’s collective conscience. I personally visited the Hindu College in Ratmalana in 2010, where a group children, who were formerly attached to the LTTE were being rehabilitated. I was impressed by the dedication of the teachers and the army, who were wholeheartedly helping these children, to restart a normal life. Some of the children I spoke to were preparing for their AL and OL exams then, and I am happy to hear that some of them are now in university. However, the process of providing psycho-social support to these children continues. And in this moment, our thoughts also go out to the parents of all the children who died or are “missing” due to the conflict. We owe them answers on what happened to their children.”