Page 140 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

united nations 1917

Internal Displacement in Sri Lanka—
A Determination to Find Solutions

Waged since 1983, Sri Lanka’s civil war has resulted few opportunities to meet their basic needs.Their over-
in about 70,000 deaths and has caused more than all common experience is still subject to the specifici-
750,000 people to become internally displaced, while ties of geographic location, ethnic background, their
another 700,000 have fled the country. In February relationship to the local population and other factors.
2002 the Government of Sri Lanka and the Libera- In order to address the ongoing problem of dis-
tion Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed a ceasefire placement, the Consortium of Humanitarian Agen-
agreement. Yet initial optimism that the government cies (CHA) in partnership with the Brookings
would initiate a quick process of resettling internally Institution and Johns Hopkins University’s School of
displaced persons (IDPs) was overshadowed by scep- Advanced International Studies (SAIS) have pub-
ticism brought about by the many challenges in lished a Practitioner’s Kit for Return, Resettlement,
advancing the peace process. Rehabilitation and Development. The Practitioner’s
Since the ceasefire, almost 50 percent (350,000) of Kit was developed to assist IDPs who have decided
displaced persons had returned home by February to return or resettle, caregivers, and stakeholders seek-
2004. One-quarter of the remaining 370,000 dis- ing to promote the smooth and peaceful return or
placed persons are living in government-provided resettlement of IDPs. While the Practitioner’s Kit is
welfare centers.According to U.N. surveys conducted based on the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Dis-
in February 2004, about 210,000 IDPs currently placement, the Kit itself has been used to transform
wish to return home. Additionally, some Sri Lankan the Guiding Principles into a call for action.This call
refugees living in India have begun to return, for action encourages the fulfilment of Sri Lanka’s
although few members of the Sri Lankan Tamil Dias- national responsibility and works to ensure that indi-
pora have shown an interest in return. vidual and collective actions are taken to protect the
In many northern districts, IDPs are unable to rights of the internally displaced.Through this “call,”
return to their homes because they are landless (such the CHA, Brookings, and SAIS promote assistance to
as in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi) or because their IDPs that encompasses prevention, protection, and
homes are in a High Security Zone (HSZ) of the Sri political, economic, and social solutions. The provi-
Lankan Army or a place occupied by Security Forces sion of humanitarian assistance should go hand in
(particularly in Jaffna and Kilinochchi). Many IDPs hand with efforts to advocate for and protect the
also fear the sporadic fighting in the east, which has physical safety and the human rights of the affected
resulted from an April 2004 split in the LTTE caused populations. It should be accompanied by political
by the eastern commander known as Colonel initiatives to resolve conflicts and by plans for reinte-
Karuna.Violent acts by the northern and eastern fac- gration and development. The Call for Action is not
tions have caused additional displacements, while just a response to the emergency of displacement, but
encouraging IDP reluctance to return. a comprehensive strategy seeking to prevent the con-
Displaced persons had little choice in deciding to ditions that initially caused displacement in Sri Lanka.
flee their homes.Yet, as a group they continue to have By Rachel Brule

However, the U.N. has a mixed record on achieving given to the U.N. Its successful roles in easing armed con-
what the League of Nations never could: the ability to use flict in the Congo (1960), El Salvador (1995), and the
force to preserve international stability.Whether force is former Yugoslavia (1999) have been praised, whereas its
justified, implemented quickly enough, and agreed upon failures in halting the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956
democratically informs much of the criticism and praise and the more recent Cambodian (1979) and Rwandan