Colombo, Sri Lanka | 25 July 2025 – Marking a decisive move to combat all forms of violence against children, the International Conference on Child Protection (ICCP’25) commenced today in Colombo and will continue until July 27. This is the first international conference of its kind hosted in Sri Lanka and brings together over 250 participants to strengthen the country’s child protection systems.
Organized by the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Kelaniya in collaboration with the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and supported by the European Union (EU) through UNICEF Sri Lanka, the conference aims to drive policy, academic, and institutional action on some of Sri Lanka’s most pressing child rights issues.
According to the NCPA, more than 10,000 complaints related to child abuse were reported in 2024, with over 8% involving sexual abuse. ICCP’25 seeks to offer evidence-based solutions to these challenges by bringing together government leaders, policymakers, researchers, and child protection professionals both locally and internationally.
