The Sri Lankan government had told the United Nations that it will reintegrate former child soldiers into society as productive citizens in view of the conclusion of the island's long drawn-out civil war, the presidential office said Sunday.
In a joint statement issued Saturday at the conclusion of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's two-day visit to the island, the two sides recognized that the large number of former child soldiers forcibly recruited by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as an important issue in the post-conflict context.
"(Sri Lankan) President (Mahinda) Rajapakse reiterated his firm policy of zero tolerance in relation to child recruitment. In cooperation with UNICEF, child-friendly procedures have been established for their 'release and surrender' and rehabilitation," the statement said, adding that the objective of the rehabilitation process presently underway is to reintegrate former child soldiers into society as productive citizens.
"The secretary-general expressed satisfaction on the progress already made by the government in cooperation with UNICEF and encouraged Sri Lanka to adopt similar policies and procedures relating to former child soldiers in the north," the statement added.
The government said earlier that around 10,000 LTTE fighters, including child soldiers, had surrendered to the government troops in the last several months.
At the invitation of Rajapakse, Ban visited Sri Lanka from on Friday and Saturday. Ban held talks with Rajapakse, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and other senior leaders.
The UN chief also visited Internal Displaced Person sites at the northern district of Vavuniya and overflew the conflict area near Mullaittivu where the government troops and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fought their final battles.
Sri Lanka's 30-year civil war came to a conclusion early this week with the total defeat of the LTTE.
Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese dominated governments, the LTTE began to fight for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east since the 1980s, resulting in the killing of more than 100,000 people in Asia's longest civil war.
(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2009)
