Sri Lanka elected to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sri Lanka’s candidate to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne was one of the eight members elected to the Committee from a field of 24 candidates.

The 13th Meeting of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child held on Tuesday (21) elected eight members to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in a single round of secret balloting, the UN reported.

All eight candidates have received the required majority of 91 votes and each will serve a term of four years, replacing members whose terms expire on 28 February 2011. Dr. Wijemanna has received 97 votes.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child comprises 18 independent experts, and monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as its two Optional Protocols by State parties.

Upon his election to the Committee Dr. Palitha Kohona, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations said Dr. Wijemanna was a candidate with enormous experience and expertise on the welfare of children.

Dr. Wijemanna who currently serves as an adviser to the National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo University and holds a Master of Public Health Degree from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA.