HISTORIC APPEAL REGISTERED AT UNHRC – STOP CHILD CRUELTY TRUST (SCCT)

Communication No:3793/2020
Filed on: 18th August 2019

I forgot to bring my English book on 12/01/2018. There were 9-10 students. We were asked to kneel down by teacher. He pulled by our ears. We went to police to complain. Then something has happened. Next day madam asked others not to talk to me. That teacher has left the school. Madam says the school lost a good teacher because we went to police. Other students did not talk to me. They were rude. In interval all students would go out. They started bullying me. I felt sad and lonely. Don’t feel like going to school again. I can’t sleep. Take long time to fall asleep.

The complaint relates to an 11 year old girl child who was subjected to corporal punishment and later subjected to mental abuse whilst at a private international school in Sri Lanka. The State party has failed to respond to UN OHCHR Committee on three consecutive occasions; a last and final reminder was sent on 31 August 2023 with a deadline 31 October 2023. The case is awaiting final review by UN OHCHR Committee.

The facts

The facts of the submission are that: (1) Sri Lanka discriminates between government school and other

schools, where corporal punishment is only prohibited in government schools and there is no

unequivocal prohibition of corporal punishment in schools by Law (2) that Sri Lanka has taken no steps to

address such disparity , thus subjecting minors in schools other than government schools to

discriminatory treatment and (3) no effective investigations took place regarding the complaints made to

local authorities regarding the corporal punishment of the girl child.