UN Rapporteur calls for durable solutions for Sri Lankan IDPs
Friday, 13 June 2014 01:54
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UN Special Rapporteur on Internally Displaced Persons Chaloka Beyani urged the Sri Lankan Government to address the problem of IDPs living in protracted displacement, when he addressed the UN Human Rights Council’s 26th Session in Geneva yesterday.
Beyani, who visited Sri Lanka in December 2013 welcomed the positive efforts by the Sri Lankan Government to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed during the conflict and the demining in return areas.
But post conflict reconstruction and development should also focus on building livelihoods linked to durable solutions for internally displaced persons, the UN Special Rapporteur said.
“I also urge the Government to take all necessary steps to address the situation of IDPs living in protracted displacement, as well as those who have returned or settled elsewhere in the north but still live in very precarious conditions and need more durable housing, access to social services, and livelihood opportunities,” Beyani added during his speech to the Council.
During his visit to Sri Lanka the UN Special Rapporteur on IDPs visited Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
In its official response to Beyani’s report following his visit, the Sri Lankan Government took issue with comments made by the UN Rapporteur that welcomed assurances from the Government that that persons, whether officials or private individuals, who contacted him in relation to his official visit pursuant to his mandate, will not as a result be ‘intimidated, threatened, or prosecuted’.
The Government in its report to the Council that there were no reports or complaints to that effect and that no person who met Beyani during his visit had been threatened or intimidated. The Government noted that even the Special Rapporteur had acknowledged that Sri Lankan IDPs had shared their experiences with him during his visit even in the presence of security and other officials.
“Hence the comment contained in the Report that the Special Rapporteur is unnecessary and unwarranted, and the Government would like to request that this sentence be deleted,” the Government said in its response.
