Such protection is a cornerstone of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the world's most widely ratified human rights treaty. The media project was launched following Sri Lanka's ratification of the Convention. The popular campaign used television, radio and newspapers to publicize the plight of exploited children and stimulate public debate. Sunil's employer, a vendor of illicit alcohol, had hired the boy to do housework and child care. But Sunil's employer, like other alleged offenders, has little to worry about.
Employers often win their cases simply by hiring expert lawyers.
Never do they serve a jail sentence. As a last resort, they go to institutions that provide foster care. To avoid these alternatives, many children secretly return to work for the employers they have just left. In the passageway, Kusuma's mother and uncle have already begun to chat amicably with her former employer, even though the woman never sent the underage girl to school. A mere 100 officers are assigned throughout the island nation, which has a population of 7 million children under the age of 18.