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Leading News from Sri Lanka ::
Sept 29, Colombo: The United Nations Secretary-General’s Representative on the human rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Walter Kaelin remains very concerned about the very slow pace of release of Sri Lanka's IDPs from the welfare camps in the North, a UN communiqué said today.
Kaelin has expressed deep concern over the lack of freedom of movement for the 250,000 IDPs sheltered in the welfare camps after the military offensive against the LTTE and urged the authorities to accelerate their release.
"Restoration of freedom of movement for more than 250,000 internally displaced persons [IDPs] held in closed camps in northern Sri Lanka is becoming a matter of urgency," Kaelin said.
The UN official, who visited Sri Lanka recently, said the camps, which were set up to respond to an immediate emergency, are not equipped to deal with approaching heavy monsoon rains and urged to allow the IDPs to leave the camps, either to return home, to stay with host families or move to open transit sites.
"The expected flooding of low-lying areas in the upcoming weeks is likely to cause serious threats to health and life," he pointed out.
The government has pledged to release at least 70-80 percent of the IDPs by January of next year as soon as the areas where the IDPs are to resettle are cleared of land mines and other unexploded ordnance.
The government has accelerated the de-mining in the northern region with the support of international organizations and funds from US, Japan, India, and several other countries.
During his visit Kaelin met with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other government officials to explore how the protection of the human rights of the displaced could be strengthened and the present delays in camp releases addressed, the UN report said.
Welcoming the Government's pledge to release 70 to 80 percent of the displaced s by the end of the year, the UN rights official said that it "is imperative to immediately take all measures necessary to decongest the overcrowded camps in northern Sri Lanka with their difficult and risky living conditions."
In addition, restoring freedom of movement is important to gain the confidence of the Tamil community and enable the building of a sustainable peace, he said.
Kaelin noted that international law allows for internment during the height of conflict if legitimate and imperative security concerns exist, but it must not last longer than absolutely necessary to respond to those security concerns. Internment decisions must further be made on an individual rather than a group basis, the communiqué stressed.
While urging the Government to take prompt action, Kaelin acknowledged "the scope of the task that the Government confronted at the end of the military operations in May, but also observe the passage of time and the vast improvement of the security situation."
Meanwhile the UN Secretary-General ban Ki-moon addressing the media today at the UN Headquarters in New York said he met with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka yesterday and was re-affirmed of the Sri Lanka government's commitment to allow displaced persons to return to their homes by January next year.
"We need no further evidence for the need to move forward. Just this past weekend, a confrontation took place between IDPs and Sri Lankan security forces in the Menik Farms camps. Two children were shot and wounded," he said.
There is clearly a great deal of pressure on people on the ground, he added.
Mr. Ban said he will, in coordination with Member States, continue to closely follow up on the implementation of the government's commitments—both personally and through his senior officials.
This includes outstanding issues related to the freedom of movement and the return of IDPs, human rights accountability and political reconciliation, he added.
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