Sri Lanka, June 25 -- The Cabinet has approved a new programme aimed at strictly enforcing existing legal provisions and raising public awareness to combat child exploitation.

This initiative, proposed by the Minister of Child and Women's Affairs, addresses the issue of children being compelled into various professions, often becoming "street children" due to human trafficking, and engaging in begging or selling items in public.

According to the Children Rights Ordinance, a child is defined as a person under 18 years old.

Current statistics indicate that children constitute 30% of the country's total population.

Under this new programme, effective from July 1, it will be strictly prohibited for children under 16 years old to be involv...