Government tells UNHRC all IDPs resettled

The government today told the UN Human Rights Council that all 295,873 IDPs resulting from the end of the conflict in 2009 have been resettled.

Speaking during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings and the Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons, the Sri Lankan delegation said that as of March 2013, of the full caseload of IDPs displaced during the conflict period spanning 30 years, the total number resettled in the former conflict-affected Northern and Eastern provinces stands at 227,044 families or 767,231 persons.

The delegation noted that with the last batch of IDPs resettled in September 2012, and 23,398 choosing to live with host families, all 295,873 IDPs resulting from the end of the conflict in 2009 have been resettled.

“The closing of the final IDP village ‘Menik Farm’ in September 2012 marked a significant moment in the country’s transition to sustainable peace.  The demining process has continued to facilitate resettlement, and only 96 square kilometres remain to be demined,” the statement by the delegation said.

It also said that the Government continues to address issues pertaining to land to ensure that those who have been dispossessed of land are afforded the opportunity to return to the land they occupied.  The recommendations made by the LLRC pertaining to land issues and resettlement are under implementation through the National Plan of Action in a gender sensitive manner.  A dedicated circular (No 2013/01) of the Commissioner General of Land to grant the legal ownership of land to IDPs who have been resettled and to expedite the resolution of problems related to state land in the Northern and Eastern Provinces is under implementation.

 Source: Colombo Gazette (Sri Lanka)