News - UN wants immediate relief for IDPs

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, called on the Government and the LTTE to create positive conditions to ensure the safe and dignified reinstatement of thousands of persons displaced by Sri Lanka’s two-decade old conflict.

Mr. Guterres who had completed his assessment of the plight of displaced persons, in the context of escalating violence between the security forces and the LTTE, said confidence building measures were absolutely necessary to prevent further mass displacement of people.

“Displacement must be avoided and people should not be compelled to leave their homes. The civil population should also have a healthy relationship with the armed forces. The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have a right to return and they should be provided with protection and adequate assistance,” he said.

The purpose of his three-day mission to Sri Lanka - the first by a head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to the island - was to meet displaced people in the North and East and know at first hand their concerns and needs.

On Wednesday, he flew to the northern, eastern and western areas of the country where he heard at first hand the concerns of people displaced during the past fifteen years.

Mr. Guterres said that UNHCR would like to fortify confidence building between citizens and the authorities to prevent displacement, to establish the right of displaced people to return home of their own accord, and to ensure that the human rights of the citizens were respected.

“There should be a human rights approach to this problem. We must go beyond the traditional attitudes and recognize IDPs as full citizens. Their contribution is very important in building confidence and ultimately towards the entire peace process,” he said.

He said the right to return must be accepted by all parties.

The UNHCR will monitor the displaced population and provide protection and humanitarian assistance to those newly displaced as well as existing communities.

The High Commissioner's visit underlined that only peace can restore normal life for the country's many displaced people.

Recognizing the need for a recommencement of deferred peace talks, Mr. Guterres said in the present precarious situation, the commitment of the international community to the peace process in Sri Lanka was crucial.

“The displaced people who suffer – independent of their legal status – must have the support of the international community,” he said.