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Durable Solutions
Progress Report
A weekly bulletin of the United Nations IDP Working
Group
May 26-June 9 |
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| IDP SPONTANEOUS RETURN |
More than 100,000
internally displaced persons (IDPs) have moved spontaneously
since the beginning of the year in an attempt to return
to their homes. These figures were obtained by United
Nations agencies and partners through rapid assessments
on return movements to 217 villages and supplemented
by information from government authorities on other
areas. Although many of these persons have returned
to their places of origin or previous residence, some
remain displaced. In Trincomalee District, for example,
out of 1,081 families reported to have moved back
since March 20 this year, only 444 families have returned
to their own homes. The remainder are either staying
in government welfare centres, or living with family
or friends. |
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It must be emphasised that while the most recent returnee
figures represent an increase of more than 20,000
persons from the number reported in last week’s
bulletin, it remains unclear when these people have
moved. Neither the data from the UN village assessments
in late May on return movements nor previous statistics
from Government Agents specify time frames narrowly
enough to indicate weekly or monthly movement trends.
In responding to the urgent needs of these IDPs
on the move, UNHCR has distributed non-food relief
assistance to more than 4,500 families in Mannar,
Trincomalee and Vavuniya districts. Using information
from the RVA process, field staff in Jaffna, Kilinochchi
and Mullaitivu are targeting extremely vulnerable
individuals for such assistance. In Jaffna, UNICEF
is also distributing non-food relief items such
as lamps and cooking utensils.
Government support for returnees under the Unified
Assistance Scheme (UAS) has begun in parts of Trincomalee.
More than 50 families who have returned to the Kuchchaveli
and Kinniya areas received initial settling-in grants
of Rs. 10,000 to purchase temporary shelter and
tools. Approximately 100 additional families have
been identified in the Kuchchaveli area for similar
assistance.
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| REFUGEES |
More than
200 families have returned spontaneously to Sri Lanka
from south India across the Palk Straits since the
beginning of the year, according to government authorities
in Mannar. Three persons drowned while attempting
this journey last week. UNHCR continues to maintain
that conditions are unsuitable to promote a large-scale,
organised repatriation. Nonetheless, Sri Lankan refugees
in south India wishing to return are strongly encouraged
to contact UNHCR in Chennai before risking an unauthorised
trip under unsafe conditions.
UNHCR assisted three
elderly Sri Lankans to return home by plane on May
29. They were the first refugees to be repatriated
by the UN Refugee Agency from south India since 1995.
UNHCR paid for their airfare, and at the Bandaranayake
International Airport provided money for travel, food
and lodging during the remainder of their journey.
During 2001, more
than 600 of the estimated 66,000 Sri Lankan refugees
living in government camps in south India expressed
to UNHCR a desire to go home. Among these, the cases
of 85 persons, including the three mentioned above,
have been expedited on the basis of assessed vulnerability.
UNHCR, in collaboration with Indian and Sri Lankan
authorities, will facilitate the repatriation of these
persons in small batches. The next group, comprising
12 members, consists of three families who will most
likely return during the course of this month. UNHCR’s
Chennai office verifies before departure that all
returnees have made an informed, voluntary choice.
A meeting between
UNHCR and relevant government authorities on the voluntary
repatriation process is scheduled for early June.
Clarification of roles and responsibilities will be
discussed. The Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement
and Refugees, Hon. J. Jayawardena plans to visit Tamil
Nadu later in the month to discuss the issue with
Indian officials. |
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| MINE ACTION |
Two of the
three technical advisors hired by UNDP for the Mine
Action Project have arrived: Ms. Leonie Barnes will
be stationed in Vavuniya, and Mr. Tim Horner will
be based in Jaffna. The chief mine advisor, Mr. Alex
van Roy, is attending briefings with UN offices involved
in mine action in New York. He is due in Sri Lanka
on June 15.
The Mine Action Unit
(MAU) in Jaffna, working in the Katchcheri under the
GA, continues to conduct general assessment surveys
using the knowledge of local residents. The MAU, having
surveyed the Kaithadi area of the Thenmarachchi division,
is now at work in the region southwest of Kodikamam,
where the vast majority of return in Jaffna has taken
place. Suspected problem areas are marked in a first-stage
assessment process, to be followed by a more detailed
survey that will include cordoning off actual boundaries
of the mine fields. These activities are part of the
ongoing Mine Action Programme outlined under the Preparatory
Assistance Project which was prepared by the UN Interagency
Mine Action Working Group (UNIMAWG), with funds from
the World Bank and UNDP. The plan is to expand the
Jaffna MAU and replicate it in other districts in
the North and East.
Data obtained by the
MAU is being entered into the Information Management
System for Mine Action in Colombo and will figure
prominently in efforts by UN agencies to expand the
information-management capacity of their partners,
particularly relevant government ministries such as
the MRRR and district officials. The information will
also be available to NGOs and others working in the
contaminated areas.
A field-based assessment
of the mine/UXO problem in Trincomalee is scheduled
for mid-June. Organised by UNICEF, in close consultation
and cooperation with UNIMAWG, it will include the
participation of several NGOs. Mine-action co-ordination
meetings and mine-risk education workshops are planned
in Jaffna and Vavuniya once the mine advisors are
in place. |
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| EDUCATION |
UNICEF is
supporting the Zonal Education Office in Jaffna to
provide emergency primary education kits to 1,750
children, including those who have recently returned
to the area. This is in addition to providing non-food
relief items such as lanterns and cooking utensils.
In meeting the needs
of children returnees, UNICEF prioritises education
because of its importance in returning stability and
security to their lives. On a broader scale, education
also works to help re-establish normalcy within communities
exposed to violence and war. In Trincomalee, UNICEF
is working with a local NGO to assess the needs of
children returning from the Vanni and is planning
to support the Zonal Education Office to provide catch-up
literacy classes for these children.
Education is also
a primary focus of UNICEF’s work with returnees
in other base offices in Batticaloa, Mallavi and Vavuniya,
along with access to water and sanitation, health,
and protection of the rights of women and children. |
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| IDP REGISTRATION |
Government
authorities finished the collection of registration
forms in Mannar, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu
districts, where the IDP survey has been completed.
Forms will be transported to Colombo next week. UNHCR
is monitoring for confidentiality and integrity of
the forms.
Posters promoting
the registration in Colombo will be displayed instructing
IDPs to register during working hours on weekdays
at one of two places: the Government Agent's office
on Dam Street, Colombo 12, or the Divisional Secretariat’s
office on Vajira Lane, Colombo 5. The MRRR is producing
TV spots, featuring the Hon. Minister Dr. Jayalath
Jayawardane, to encourage displaced persons who have
not yet registered to come forward and participate
in the survey by approaching the GA in their respective
districts. |
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| EXPANDING CAPACITY |
In response
to the need for increased operational capacity, two
UN agencies are adding staff to co-ordinate IDP return-related
assistance and programming efforts in the field. FAO
has appointed Mr. James Breen as Emergency Co-ordinator
in Sri Lanka. Mr. Breen previously served in the same
capacity in southern Sudan, the country with the largest
internally displaced population in the world.
Mr. Ahmer Akhter,
a senior technical officer from WHO’s Emergency
and Humanitarian Action programme in Indonesia, is
on mission in Sri Lanka to explore possibilities for
the agency to increase its field presence in the coming
months. Mr. Akhter will be assessing needs and existing
resources with regards to the health sector in current
and anticipated areas of large-scale return. |
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CONTACT DETAILS
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| For further information on UN programmes
for returnees, please contact the following: |
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| Office of the UN Resident
Co-ordinator: Patrick Vandenbruaene, Humanitarian
Adviser to the UN Resident Coordinator. E-mail: patrick.vandenbruaene@undp.org
UNDP (United
Nations Development Programme) – Mr. Mitchell
Carlson, Head of the Umbrella Project. Telephone:
(94) 1 580691; e-mail: mitchell.carlson@undp.org
UNHCR (United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees) – Mr. Mike DeSisti,
Public Information Officer. Telephone: (94) 1 683968,
ext. 354; e-mail: desisti@unhcr.ch;
Internet: www.unhcr.ch
UNICEF (United Nations
Childrens Fund) -- Mr. Jean-Luc Bories, Head of Programme,
Children Affected by Armed Conflict. Telephone: (94)
1 551331; e-mail:
jlbories@unicef.org; Internet: www.unicef.org
FAO (Food and Agricultural
Organisation) – Mr. James Breen, Emergency Co-ordinator;
Telephone: 580798/588537; e-mail: FAO-LKA@field.fao.org
UNFPA (United Nations
Population Fund) --- Telephone: 580840; e-mail: unfpa.lk@undp.org
WHO (World Health Organisation)
– Telephone: 502319; e-mail: vk@who.lanka.net
WFP (World Food
Programme) – Mr. Hakan Tongul, Assistant Country
Director. Telephone: 586244; e-mail: Hakan.Tongul@wfp.org
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