| PEACE TALKS The
period since the Tokyo conference has been marked
by various attempts – by the Government of Sri
Lanka and various foreign missions, including Japan
and Norway - to encourage the LTTE to return to peace
talks. In response to the LTTE’s demand for
an interim administration in the North and East, the
Government has put forward a number of proposals.
On 17 July,
Norwegian special envoy Mr Jon Westborg met the LTTE
in Kilinochchi and delivered the government’s
latest proposal. This offered the LTTE a Provincial
Administrative Council with majority membership and
full powers to make policy. At the time of publication,
the LTTE has yet to provide its response.
BLACK JULY 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Late July saw a number
of events held to commemorate the 20th anniversary
of “Black July” – the riots in Colombo
in July 1983. Speaking at a commemoration at the Sri
Lanka Foundation Institute, the Secretary to the Prime
Minister, Mr Bradman Weerakoon, said there needs to
be an acceptance that minorities have been wronged
by the State in the past; “[an acceptance] that
their demands – for equality, justice, expression
of grievances – are fair and reasonable and
should be listened to.” He also said there also
needs to be acceptance that the war - “armed
conflict, terrorism, whatever you call it, breeds
increasing hatred, fear and hostility. It adds to
the narratives on both sides, which fuel resentment.”
Looking ahead, Mr Weerakoon
stressed that peace is paramount: “a politically
negotiated settlement on which there is agreement.“
“The road is long and hard,” he concluded,
“and we all … need to work long and hard.”
RETURN OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS/IDP SURVEY
-
Spontaneous movements of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) – meaning people
moving on their own - continued in May and June,
though at an increasingly slower rate. According
to figures provided by the Ministry for Rehabilitation,
Resettlement and Refugees, 4,727 people moved
to or within districts in the North and East during
May, down from 6,514 in April and 12,161 in March.
In June, the number moving was even lower - 3,951.
-
According
to the Ministry’s figures, by the end of
June a total of 311,202 people had moved to or
within districts in the North and East since January
2002. Jaffna accounts for 170,768, or 55%, of
these movements. However, it should be noted that
the figures frequently do not include data from
Batticaloa and Puttalam districts, including during
May and June.
-
The only
district to experience an increase in IDP movements
during June was Mannar, where 613 people moved.
-
Vavuniya
experienced a large increase in movements during
May, when 1,299 people moved, up from 446 in the
previous month. However, movements slowed down
again in June, with just 531 people moving to
or within the district.
-
RETURNS FROM INDIA
Over the past month
there has been a noticeable increase in the number
of refugees from India spontaneously returning to
Sri Lanka - and in particular Jaffna - by boat.
If they are returning
to areas around Mannar and Jaffna, these people normally
take a boat directly across the Palk Straits from
Tamil Nadu to Mannar. But at this time of the year
that journey is not possible because of the strong
winds from the south. So returnees instead catch a
boat to Katchathivu, a small island south west of
Delft. The plan is that the boat then returns to India
and telephones a contact in Mannar, who sends another
boat to pick up the people on Katchathivu.
However, the southerly
winds have been so strong recently that it has not
been possible for boats to make the trip from Mannar.
Otherwise stranded, the returnees left on the island
have been forced to catch a ride with local fisherman
to Delft. From there they make their way south.
During July, 27 families
- comprising 60 people - returned to Sri Lanka via
Delft in this way. UNHCR is supporting the local authorities
in Delft and Jaffna to assist these people upon their
return. Returnees are registered and provided with
overnight accommodation, as well as financial support
for their journey home. They are also entitled to
support under the Unified Assistance Scheme.
In doing this,
UNHCR is cognisant of the need to discourage refugees
in India from returning home via such a dangerous
route. UNHCR is advising all returnees to discourage
their family members, relatives and friends from attempting
this type of return.
FLOODS
Many people remain
displaced by the floods that struck southern Sri Lanka
in May. According to the Ministry of Social Welfare,
on 9 July there were still 1,761 persons displaced,
including 1,668 in Ratnapura District and 93 in Matara
District. In all, 236 people were recorded as dead,
with 17 still missing. More than 9,000 houses had
been completely destroyed and over 30,000 partly damaged.
With the immediate
humanitarian crisis having ended, work is now focused
on reconstruction and rehabilitation. The government
has pledged Rs 100,000 assistance to all families
whose houses were completely destroyed, of which the
first instalment has already been paid. Support has
also been provided by numerous local and international
organisations, international donors and UN agencies.
UNHCR’s
main concern at this time is the people remaining
in welfare centres. The number of people in the centres
fluctuates, with numbers tending to swell after rains
but then fall soon after. However, UNHCR estimates
the number of long term displaced to be between 500
and 1,000.
CHILD PROTECTION
-
After the LTTE’s
official signing of the Action Plan addressing
the needs and care of the children in the North
East affected by war, developed in consultation
with UNICEF, implementation has accelerated. Construction
of the transit centres for the release of under-age
recruits has started and work has begun on the
development of the programmes and activities that
will take place in the centres.
-
One component
of the Action Plan that will start immediately
is an awareness campaign that highlights the commitments
made by the LTTE and the Government under the
Action plan, as well as the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. UNICEF has been working with
Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) to develop
the awareness campaign. And to ensure the message
is acceptable to all parties, meetings have also
been held with the Government and the LTTE.
-
Despite the
significant commitment shown by the LTTE to the
Action Plan, UNICEF continued to receive reports
of underage recruitment and harassment of families.
POLICE TRAINING
The Human Rights Commission (HRC), with support
from UNHCR, recently conducted training in how to
deal with offenses against women and children for
police in Vavuniya and Jaffna. Police officers learnt
how to deal with cases of child abuse, sexual assault
and offences against women. Police officers later
reported that the most useful part of the course had
been the session on investigative techniques and court
proceedings. A follow-up visit to the police stations
in Vavuniya demonstrated that over 50 per cent of
the trained police officers were using what they had
learnt. The HRC and UNICEF, which was an observer
at the Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna sessions, are now
developing six more pilot training sessions, to take
place over the next two months in Puttalam, Anuradhapura,
Batticaloa, Badulla, Hambantota and Trincomalee.
MINE ACTION
Mine Risk Education (MRE) and
Mine Action players held their first national MRE
coordination meeting in Vavuniya in mid-June. The
meeting, which takes place on a bi-monthly basis,
aims to provide an opportunity for the organisations
to meet and discuss common issues.
Meanwhile, Mine
Action offices in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya
continue to work with local authorities and stakeholders
to identify priority areas for mine and UXO clearance.
District Mine Action Steering Committees, established
in all affected districts, are important actors in
this process. Already, a number of areas have been
cleared. Various agencies are involved in clearance
and MRE in the North and East, including Danish De-mining
Group, Halo Trust, the Sri Lankan Army, the Humanitarian
De-mining Unit (HDU) and TRO, Mines Advisory Group
(MAG), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and Swiss
Federation for De-mining (FSD). Ronco have just completed
their contract. Two new agencies are now in the process
of setting up operations. The Mine Action programme
is supported by UNDP and UNICEF, which provide technical
advice on information management, prioritisation,
coordination, quality management and MRE.
RECONCILIATION CENTRE IN
PUTTALAM
A Reconciliation Centre,
managed by Campaign for Development and Solidarity
(FORUT) with support from UNHCR, has been established
in Puttalam town. The centre provides a range of services
to members of the public – and especially IDPs
- including a children's corner, library, educational
resources, TV and newspapers. Activities include sewing,
embroidery and skills training for women. The centre
also conducts human rights training, which leads to
a Diploma in Human Rights.
More broadly,
the centre has proved to be a popular meeting place
for the people of Puttalam. Services can be provided
in Sinhala, Tamil and English. The centre has a board
of directors made up of members of the local IDP community,
and includes Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim representatives.
These board members are receiving training in financial
and administrative procedures - so that, after one
year, FORUT can withdraw and the centre can be run
by the IDPs themselves.
|
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL TRAINING
An initial orientation
workshop on establishing student based advisory services
was conducted by UNICEF for the principals of 38 schools
in Madhu and Mannar education zones. A second workshop
on how to select the teachers who will receive training
as student advisors was held in Trincomalee. At the
initial stage the programme will train counsellors
in 104 schools, benefiting more than 100,000 children
in Mannar, Trincomalee and Kilinochchi districts.
TRANSITION STRATEGY
Following the completion
of the Assessment of Needs in the Conflict-Affected
Areas, and in light of the pledges made at the Tokyo
conference, the Multilateral Group is now developing
a detailed joint plan of action to guide its future
work.
The Group -
which comprises the UN Country Team, World Bank, ADB,
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International
Organisation for Migration (IOM) - is focusing on
how to bridge the gap between humanitarian relief
and sustainable development. This Transition Strategy
will especially address what needs to be done to:
- help create durable solutions
for IDPs and refugees,
- promote good governance,
- address the strategic priorities
of the Government, as outlined in Regaining Sri
Lanka.
The overall goal of
this joint project is national recovery – recovery
that not only consolidates peace and stabilisation,
but also lays the foundation for longer-term development.
An initial draft of the Transition Strategy is expected
to be completed by late September 2003.
The Transition
Strategy is rooted in the UN’s UNDG-ECHA (United
Nations Development Group-Executive Committee on Humanitarian
Assistance) Working Group, and its “4R”
process. A programme concept, 4R relates to the repatriation,
reintegration, rehabilitation and reconstruction processes.
It aims to ensure linkages between each process, thereby
promoting durable solutions for refugees, ensuring
poverty reduction and helping create good local governance.
Sri Lanka is one of just four countries piloting the
4R process, the others being Sierra Leone, Eritrea
and Afghanistan.
|