Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 1989, upon the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) established a delegation in Sri Lanka and has since then been assisting the conflict-affected population according to its mandate as an independent, neutral and impartial organization.

Over the subsequent years, in answer to the situation prevailing in Sri Lanka due to conflict affecting the North East, the ICRC visited more than 21,000 detainees and registered almost 22,000 Tracing Requests from families who had no news about the whereabouts of their close relatives. Approximately half of these tracing requests have been answered by localizing – dead or alive – the person searched for. Yet several thousand persons remain unaccounted for.

In their function as Neutral Intermediaries, ICRC delegates have accompanied during all the years of conflict tens of thousand of civilians— be it on land or by sea—across the front lines or from the Jaffna peninsula to the South and back. Vessels, operated by the ICRC or protected by the Red Cross emblem, were for many years a lifeline for the citizens of Jaffna facilitating the transport of essential goods or the journey for civilians forth and back from the Peninsula in the North.

According to the needs identified and the opportunities available, the ICRC has also provided material assistance to civilians in the war-affected areas. Shelter, access to clean water and basic medical care has been provided to hundreds of thousands of people living in the Vanni and the East. Some of these relief programs have been carried out by the ICRC in close co-operation with its partners of the Red Cross Movement; the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and other Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies.

After the Cease Fire Agreement concluded between the parties in early 2002 and the consequent opening of the A-9 highway, many hitherto isolated areas of Sri Lanka became, once again, linked to the outside world.

In this new positive environment, the ICRC has reoriented its operational priorities: We continue to cater to the needs of the most vulnerable conflict-affected population mainly in terms of protection, and continue to disseminate the respect for International Humanitarian Law (HL) which, in our view, still applies to Sri Lanka today.

The ICRC also continues to play its role as a Neutral Intermediary, a role which is most evident at the three busy crossing points in and out of the Vanni where ICRC delegates maintain—upon the explicit request of both parties—a constant presence, assuring the safety of the thousands of civilians who cross the lines every day.

On the other hand, the ICRC has left the very much required structural rehabilitation and long-term development oriented tasks in the North East to agencies more specialized in this domain; among them our partners in the Red Cross Movement.

After many years in difficulties, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society has taken important steps to improve its credibility and performance. This significant change has encouraged the ICRC and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to reinforce their support to the Sri Lankan Red Cross. A Memorandum of Understanding outlining the scope of this co-operation has been signed earlier this year in Colombo between the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the Federation and the ICRC.

The Sri Lankan Red Cross, encouraged by the success of its programs of Primary Health Care run in the Vanni and Kurunehala in close co-operation with the Canadian Red Cross has drafted a plan of action, which outlines its intention to spread and increase its involvement in Primary Health Care across the island. Several Red Cross Societies from abroad have already confirmed their interest in supporting this project; preventive primary health care is an essential complement to the ambitious plans for much-needed improvements in curative care, and the grassroots network of the Red Cross can assure a credible community-based service.

While the quick and efficient addressing of the needs identified in the document ‘Assessment of Needs in the Conflict Affected Areas,’ elaborated by the parties with the support of the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, and the World Bank, is of paramount importance to continue the normalization of the lives of all citizens of Sri Lanka, the ICRC understands that the road towards peace and the reconciliation of all people and communities in Sri Lanka may be long. While the cease-fire agreement has dramatically reduced the number of civilian and military causalities in Sri Lanka, the danger of civilians being affected by conflict-related violence will not be finally discounted until a definitive and broadly accepted political solution is put in place.

In consequence an appropriate presence and structure of the ICRC in Sri Lanka to accompany the country in its process of stabilization remains essential; we appreciate that both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE share this view.

Today, the ICRC continues, in accordance with its mandate, to visit persons arrested and detained in relation with the prevailing situation. Their number has decreased significantly since the signing of the Cease Fire Agreement and the release of many such detainees.

The Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law to arms carriers remains an important task for the ICRC in Sri Lanka. Particular efforts have been undertaken by the Sri Lankan armed and security forces to integrate IHL into the curricula of its officers and soldiers. The LTTE has also made indications that it will follow up the commitments it made during the talks in Hakone in March 2003 with regard to the teaching of IHL to its cadres. The ICRC is pleased to reiterate its availability to assist the LTTE in this task.

Many thousands of Sri Lanka families whose loved ones disappeared or went missing in combat have not yet received an answer as to the whereabouts of their son or daughter, husband or wife. As of today, several thousand civilians, cadres of the LTTE or members of the armed and security forces of the Government remain unaccounted for—many of them since the early 1990s. The ICRC has so far been able to follow up the cases of 2800 individuals who toady have to be considered as confirmed missing. The ICRC continues to work on another 8000 open tracing requests filed by families in order to update the information in our possession. The ICRC however fears that most of these files will remain without conclusive answers and that the list of persons confirmed missing will lengthen.

The ICRC remains convinced that the decisive tackling by the parties of the thorny issue of missing persons as a result of the conflict will help – once the time has come – to accelerate the process of reconciliation. During the peace talks between the Government and the LTTE in January 2003, the parties agreed to ask the ICRC to help them set up an independent verification mechanism to ascertain the fate of persons unaccounted for in connection with the conflict, a task which the ICRC has expressed its willingness to take on. The ICRC continues to assist the parties in an appropriate manner and on strictly humanitarian grounds to bring answers and relief to families who remain tormented by doubt. At the same time, the ICRC reassures those families of missing persons with little means to make their voices heard that we will not allow their grievances to fall into oblivion.

To accomplish these tasks for the benefit of persons directly affected by the conflict and all other Sri Lankans longing for peace and prosperity, the ICRC continues to count on the support of the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, and expects from them the necessary resolve and courage to tackle difficult humanitarian issues.