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by Jayantha Sri Nissanka

Non Governmental Organisations are lobbying Sri Lanka to ratify the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty but the Government is yet consider the issue.

However, the ICC started the trial against former Congo rebel leader Thomas Lubanga last Monday on counts for conscripting children to use them in combat.

A Human Rights organisation which is fighting for the rights of children, the Setha Sri Lanka Foundation's Executive Director Dumidu Punchihewa claims that if the Government had signed the ICC treaty, LTTE leader Velupillai Prbhakaran could have been tried at the ICC for conscripting 5400 children like the Congo rebel leader.

UNICEF Senior Programme Coordinator Dr. Yasmin Haque confirmed that the LTTE had recruited 5400 children since 2001. Of them, still 1384 are still with the LTTE. "These are cases reported to us but the actual figures could be more", she hinted.

A top official in the United Nation's Affairs branch of the Foreign Ministry said that if the Government ratified the ICC treaty, many groups could misuse the issues against the Government.

"The Government is concerned about this", he noted.

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