Statement delivered by His Excellency Jayantha Jayasuriya, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka during the presentations of special procedure mandate-holders, chairs of treaty bodies and other experts in the Third Committee of the 81st UNGA

Monday, 12 October 2026

Presenter: H.E.JayanthaJayasuriya

Location: New York

Statement delivered by His Excellency Jayantha Jayasuriya, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka during the presentations of special procedure mandate-holders, chairs of treaty bodies and other experts in the Third Committee of the 81st UNGA

Monday, 12 October 2026

Promotion and protection of the rights of children - Item 66; Promotion and protection of the rights of children - Item 66(a); Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children - Item 66(b) : 

Thank you Mr./Madam Chair,

Sri Lanka takes note of all the reports submitted and commend the contributions of all the briefers. 

Child protection remains a key priority of our Government, which maintains a policy of zero tolerance towards sexual and gender-based violence. As a member of the Pathfinding Global Alliance to End Violence against Children, Sri Lanka continues to advance legal, policy and institutional reforms to strengthen the protection of children from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation. The current National Policy Framework, identifies a number of priorities aimed at safeguarding the protection and well-being of children.

I wish to recall the visits of Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid SRSG and the Executive Board of UNICEF to Sri Lanka in June this year.

On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, I thank the SRSG and UNICEF for their visits that played an important role in fostering mutual understanding and strengthening cooperation between Sri Lanka and the United Nations. We appreciate their support and look forward to sustaining these productive engagements.