Sri Lanka reassures UN on IDP welfare
New York: Sri Lanka yesterday reassured the United Nations
that it is steadfastly committed top protect the rights of the residents
in the Wanni and ensure their welfare.
This assurance was given when Disaster Management and Human Rights
Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe called on UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon
at the UN.
The Minister briefed the Secretary General on the progress being
achieved by the Government in its effort to promote and protect human
rights and also address the humanitarian concerns in the North, a
spokesman for the Minister said. He reiterated that the Government
remained sensitive to the principle of civilian protection, emphasizing
that the Security Forces’ experience in the Eastern Province last year
with no civilian casualties provided the best practice, which inspired
its ongoing campaign against terrorism in the North.
He stressed that the continuing food supplies to the Wanni with the
assistance of the United Nations demonstrated the concern that
Government had for the welfare of its citizens and that,
based on the priorities identified by the UN needs assessment mission
last week, supply of non-food items would follow. He said there was no
withdrawal of UN personnel from Kilinochchi to Vavuniya and it was only
a temporary relocation which was taken in consultation with partners,
specially to ensure that they faced no risk as military action against
LTTE intensified.
Elaborating on the work of the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian
Access, which met regularly under his chairmanship to address all
operational issues in the humanitarian arena, the Minister conveyed that
this mechanism served as a clearing channel for immediate concerns and
helped find solutions to several issues then and there. Emphasizing that
the measures taken by the Government and the UN in the humanitarian area
were reassuring, the Secretary General confirmed that UN stood ready to
assist the Government in its effort to continue to improve humanitarian
situation and encouraged the Government to continue to remain committed
to achieving a negotiated settlement.
The Minister stressed that he had specific instructions from
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, following the President’s meeting in New
York with UN Secretary General, the support and goodwill to the
Secretary General and the United Nations for the humanitarian work being
carried out in Sri Lanka in addition to ongoing development work and
also to build on the existing bilateral relations. |