IOM and the Police Department establish a database to counter human trafficking
Colombo, 20 October 2009 - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) together with the Sri Lanka Police Department have created a database to combat human trafficking.
The database, hosted at the Criminal Records Division, will not only house relevant statistical data but will also be used to update information on trafficking cases progressively, thus helping to track cases and identify similar trends and persons involved in these offences.
“Human trafficking is an issue of growing concern worldwide and more so as of late in Sri Lanka”, says Anuradhi Navaratnam, Programme Manager of IOM Sri Lanka’s Counter Trafficking Unit. “There is a considerable gap in data related to identified and prosecuted cases of human trafficking and it is this gap we are trying to bridge through the development of the database”, adds Anuradhi.
The database is a comprehensive and central data collection system which will capture human trafficking offences and will also assist law enforcement officers to track and prosecute these cases.
Plans are also underway to link the database with other relevant government bodies dealing with cases of human trafficking. “By doing so we hope to bring together all partners and stakeholders to collaborate in combating human trafficking” says Anuradhi. IOM is grateful to the Police Department for the support rendered and for their commitment shown in investigating and prosecuting cases of trafficking.
This Sri Lanka rupees 5.7 million project, funded by the British High Commission, isan integral component of IOM Sri Lanka’s Migration Management assistance portfolio through which IOM supports national initiatives that aim at strengthening the capacity of government and other stakeholders to manage migration more effectively.
International Organization for Migration partners with Institute of Policy Studies to launch: "International Migration Outlook – Sri Lanka 2008"
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) together with the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) launches the first edition of the “International Migration Outlook – Sri Lanka 2008.“ The report, which is based on a study conducted by IPS, and commissioned by IOM, outlines a comprehensive analysis of the trends, patterns and changes in migration from Sri Lanka in recent years. The report also addresses a longstandingneed of streamlining Sri Lanka’s international migration data for better planning and decision-making in migration management activities in the country.
During the past decade, the numbers of migrants from Sri Lanka – be it for economic, educational, social or political reasons - have increased. So has the importance of challenges brought about by international migration including social change, cultural adaptation, threats to national security and identity and resource allocation.
“Migration must be managed to maximise its benefits and it is the formulation of effective migration management policies that will help determine this,” says Mohammed Abdiker, IOM Sri Lanka’s Chief of Mission. “This being the arena we hope, the statistical information and the analyses of key migration issues in this report will become useful,” adds Abdiker.
“Accurate data on migration are vital to formulate policies related to migration and also for mainstreaming migration to the overall national policies. The information and analysis in this report will certainly assist to sharpen the National Labour Migration Policy of Sri Lanka initiated in late 2008”, says Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the IPS. The report begins with the institutional framework for migration in Sri Lanka and describes the different types of migration including labour, student, irregular and tourism purposes along with key indicators, facts and figures. The final chapter considers a “way forward” for addressing migration management in Sri Lanka.
“This report recognizes the importance of migration and although it does not provide a complete migration picture in Sri Lanka, it is a progressive step in the right direction for collection and dissemination of migration data which will help inform policies,” says Shantha Kulasekera, IOM Sri Lanka’s Head of Migration Management.
The IPS conducted study is part of a two year capacity building programme implemented by IOM, funded by the European Commission (EC) and the Government of Australia (DIAC), towards the establishment of a coordinated migration data collection system in Sri Lanka.
World Food Day is “no food day” for more than one billion of the world’s hungry
As the number of hungry people shoots past record levels, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today called on the world to remember the more than one billion urgently hungry people with inadequate access to food.
“World Food Day is actually ‘No Food Day’ for almost one out of every six people around the world this year,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. “Let’s remember that more than one billion people won’t get enough nutritious food to eat today. We can change this - so our challenge is to turn ‘No Food Day’ back into ‘World Food Day’ for the hundreds of millions without food on their table tonight.”
The flow of food aid is at its lowest level in twenty years, while the number of hungry people is growing, due to the combined impact of high food prices, the global financial crisis and increasingly severe weather patterns.
This year, WFP set out to feed 108 million people in 74 countries around the world, but a severe budget shortfall has prompted a reduction of rations to hungry people in some countries, and programme suspensions in others. So far, donors have contributed some US$2.9 billion towards WFP’s 2009 budget of US$6.7 billion.
Sheeran added that for decades, WFP has been able to feed around ten per cent of the world’s hungriest men, women and children, but this year, for the first time, the agency is unlikely to reach that target. As an agency that responds to emergency needs, WFP has also had to meet many unforeseen demands in 2009, such as the response to the recent floods in the Philippines.
In Sri Lanka, WFP is assisting the government in feeding 1.2 million people through its emergency feeding and recovery programmes, including food-for-education, food-for-work and mother-and-child health and nutrition initiatives.
“Food is the most elemental and basic human need, an entitlement that every man, women and child should have,” commented Adnan Khan, WFP Representative. “With the number of hungry people in the world increasing, we must take World Food Day, to rededicate ourselves to the urgent task of finding viable and lasting solutions to global hunger and food insecurity. One billion people do not know where their next meal is coming from, and go to bed hungry. We must give these people real hope that there is the will, the commitment and the energy to redress this imbalance.”
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. In 2009, WFP aims to feed 108 million people in 74 countries. WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on WFP.org. For more details see: http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=999
Channels for internal and international migrants must remain open for South Asians
Colombo, 12 October 2009—Migration within and across borders brings many benefits to South Asia, yet opportunities are often lost due to barriers and constraints to movement, according to the 2009 Human Development Report (HDR)launched in Colombo today.
The Report, Overcoming Barriers: Human mobility and development, shows that migration can have a significant impact on reducing poverty in a country.
Internal Migration This is especially true for internal migration, since it is much easier for people from poor families to move within borders than across them. Internal migration far exceeds the number of people who have moved across country borders. There are problems as well. Rapid urban growth, often associated with internal migration, can pose major challenges. A review of urbanization experiences in South Asia, commissioned for the Report, finds that a number of governments continue to pursue policies aimed at slowing down internal migration. Instead of viewing internal migration as a problem, the Report encourages South Asian countries to view it as a possible solution to development needs that can be managed. In fact, many countries, including Sri Lanka, are linking migration policies to their strategies for reducing poverty.
Costs
Especially in Asia, many migrant workers rely on commercial agents to organize job offers and make other arrangements, such as housing. Overcoming Barriersbelieves that the high fees middlemen demand can be a problem, especially for low-skilled workers. The Report urges South Asian countries to consider ways to reduce these costs and combat corruption in order to see greater gains from movement.
Links to development Migrants’ gains are often shared with their families and communities at home. In many cases this is in the form of cash – remittances. Remittances are very significant for several nations in the region, most notably in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka where they constitute about 16, 10, and 8 percent of GDP, respectively. In 2007, US$ 2,527 million in remittances were sent to Sri Lanka. Average remittances per person were US$ 131, compared with the average for South Asia of US$ 33.The families of migrants may benefit in other ways too. These ‘social remittances,’ as they are called, include reductions in fertility, higher school enrolment rates and the empowerment of women.
Also released as part of the 2009 Human Development Report is the latest Human Development Index (HDI), an indicator of people’s well-being, combining measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and GDP per capita. This year’s HDI, which refers to 2007, for Sri Lanka is 0.759 which gives the country a rank of 102nd out of 182 countries with data. Between 1980 and 2007 Sri Lanka's HDI rose by 0.58% annually from 0.649 to 0.759 today. In terms of life expectancy at birth and adult literacy rate, Sri Lanka ranks 59 and 66 respectively.
At the Sri Lanka launch of the HDR-‘Making Migration work better for Sri Lanka’-Ideas from the Human Development Report’, Mr. Neil Buhne, UNDP Resident Representative stressed the need to mainstream migration into the development strategy of any country, especially those where migration plays a large part in the economy, such as Sri Lanka. Addressing mobility issues accelerates human development’s progress at individual, community, national and global levels, he said. Mr. Buhne also outlined the core package of policy reform described in the Report.The reforms stress rights for migrants, ensure benefits for migrants and destination communities alike, making it easier for people to move.
Mr. S. Sirisena, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, delivered the keynote address at the Report launch. Mr. Sirisena provided an overview of the development of labour migration in Sri Lanka. Healso mentioned that the Government of Sri Lanka is taking forward the National Labour Migration Policy and has placed particular emphasis on increasing the migration of skilled workers and reducing the outflow of low skilled workers including women workers who are employed as housemaids.
The event concluded with a panel discussion which included migration experts from the Government, academia and the UN system. A range of issues including migrant rights, national policies dealing with migration, and contribution of migration towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals were discussed.
To access the Human Development Report and the complete Press Kit please visit: www.hdr.undp.org
ABOUT THIS REPORT: The Human Development Report continues to frame debates on some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity. It is an independent report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Jeni Klugman is the Lead Author of the 2009 Report. The Report is translated into more than a dozen languages and launched in more than 100 countries annually.The 2009 Human Development Report is published in English by Palgrave Macmillan.
ABOUT HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: Human Development is the expansion of the freedoms that people have to live their lives as they choose. This conception – inspired by the path-breaking work of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and the leadership of Mahbub ul Haq, and known also as the capabilities approach because of its emphasis on the freedom that people have to achieve vital ‘beings and doings’ – has been at the core of UNDP’s approach since the first Human Development Report in 1990, and is as relevant as ever to the design of effective policies to combat poverty and deprivation. This approach has proved powerful in reshaping thinking about topics as diverse as gender, human security and climate change.
ABOUT UNDP: UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. www.undp.lk
UNHCR concerned about safety of displaced persons in Sri Lanka
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is deeply concerned about reports of security incidents taking place inside camps accommodating internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Sri Lanka.
The most recent incident took place on Saturday, September 26th in the Menik Farm camp, in the district of Vavuniya, when security forces reportedly attempted to stop a group of IDPs from moving between two zones of the camp. This angered the IDPs who subsequently attacked the sentries.
Security personnel then reportedly opened fire to disperse the mob. Several people are said to have been injured, including a child who was hit by a stray bullet and is now paralyzed. There are also reports of several people being detained following the disturbance. UNHCR calls upon the government to ensure the protection and physical security of the IDPs and to undertake a swift investigation into the event.
This latest episode reinforces repeated calls by the UN and the international community to the government of Sri Lanka to accelerate the return process and restore freedom of movement for those displaced who choose to remain in the camps. It also shows the need to implement the host family programme that the government has announced, and which the UN has welcomed, which allows citizens to host IDPs.
Additional efforts are urgently needed to decongest overcrowded camps, particularly as the monsoon season approaches. The rains will lead to flooding of low lying areas of the camps, causing further deterioration of living conditions and posing possible threats to IDPs’ health and safety.
Since June, at the request of the government, UN agencies together with partners have been carrying out work at the Menik Farm IDP sites to prepare them for the rainy season. However, UNHCR has advised the government that the sites are not adequately equipped to cope with the monsoons given the number of IDPs residing there.
Menik Farm consists of seven zones and is one of 21 closed camps spread across the Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee districts. The camps accommodate more than 250,000 persons displaced by conflict. A government security screening process aimed at separating ex-combatants from civilians means that residents of the camps have no freedom of movement.
UNHCR acknowledges the government’s release of some 15,000 IDPs from the camps since early August, including many vulnerable individuals, either to host families or to their homes as part of its ongoing 180-day return plan. The agency is calling on the government to expedite the screening process and to increase the rate of releases from the camps.
UNHCR is also concerned about the approximately 3,300 IDPs who were transferred to new closed transit camps in their districts of origin mid-September rather than being returned to their homes. While a brief transit in the district of origin might be required, some IDPs have been in these transit sites for more than two weeks.
Discussions between the UN refugee agency and the government on the resettlement process are continuing and UNHCR UNHCR will provide return assistance as soon as IDPs are allowed to return to their homes. / END
For further information on these topics, please contact:
In Sri Lanka: Sulakshani Perera, at +941 126 83 968 or +94 777 272 494 In Geneva: Hélène Caux, at 41 22 739 7932 or 41 79 21 73 193
European Union provides new secondary school in Ampara
The European Union provides a new secondary school building for 300 children and 13 teachers of Ameer Ali village, in Ampara, eastern Sri Lanka.
Prior to the new school building, students and teachers conducted classes in a temporary shed. The school lacked adequate toilet facilities and was without a perimeter wall which meant that it was difficult for teachers to monitor the whereabouts of students and cattle often wandered into the school grounds.
In 2007, the Department of Education granted permission to upgrade the school from primary to secondary level. One of the main driving forces for this decision was the fact that school drop outs were averaging 40 to 45 students per year, most of whom were female.
This project, costing over 7.2 million rupees and made possible by the European Union through its implementing partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM),under the Community Livelihoods Support Programme (CLSP), includes a two storey school building with classrooms, store rooms, landscaping and site development, including drainage. The school will now cater for children from Grade 1 through to Grade 9, and with this expansion, the number of students who are expected to benefit from the project will invariably rise significantly in the coming years.
“The school was upgraded by the Department of Education in order to try to reduce drop outs but the classrooms and facilities were not adequate to accommodate more students. We sought assistance from the European Union and IOM, and the result of their support is this majestic building. We are very happy with the results,” explains Mr. A.H.M. Jesin, principal of the school.
European Union-CLSP facts:
oEU grants LKR 7.2 million for the construction of the school
oNew secondary school will include a two-storey building
oOver 300 students will now be able to study up to Grade 9
A ceremony to open and hand over the secondary school to the
Ameer Ali School Development Society will take place at 10.30am on 1 October 2009 at the school site. The Zonal Director of Education, Divisional Secretary, staff of the school, and officials of the education department will attend this momentous occasion alongside the community.
MEDIA STATEMENT:
Freedom of movement for a quarter of a million displaced, UN Representative discusses with Sri Lankan government
“Restoration of freedom of movement for more than 250,000 internally displaced persons held in closed camps in Northern Sri Lanka is becoming a matter of urgency, and I remain very concerned about the very slow pace of releases”, the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kaelin, highlighted at the end of a three-day return visit to Sri Lanka.
During his recent visit the Representative followed up on the discussions of Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, with the Government of Sri Lanka t in order to explore how the protection of the human rights of the displaced could be strengthened and the present delays in camp releases addressed.
“I continue to welcome the Government’s stated intention that 70–80% of the displaced shall be allowed to return by the end of the year. In this regard, I was impressed by the Government’s massive demining and reconstruction efforts that I witnessed in the Mannar rice bowl,” he said.
“It is imperative to immediately take all measures necessary to decongest the overcrowded camps in Northern Sri Lanka with their difficult and risky living conditions. The IDPs should be allowed to leave these camps and return voluntarily and in freedom, safety and dignity to their homes. If this is not possible in the near future, the displaced must be allowed to stay with host families or in open transit sites”, the Representative said. “This is particularly important as the monsoon season is approaching. The camps, which were set up to respond to an immediate emergency, are not equipped to deal with heavy rains. The expected flooding of low-lying areas in the upcoming weeks is likely to cause serious threats to health and life,” Kaelin added.
The Representative, while appreciating that his interlocutors in the Government shared these goals, called upon the Government to translate its commitments into action without further delay. “Restoration of freedom of movement is important to gain the confidence of the Tamil community and enable the building of a sustainable peace” the Representative said. He added: “In this context an incident reported by the Sri Lankan Army on 26 September involving the use of firearms to control a group of internally displaced persons trying to move from one camp zone to another that resulted in injuries to two persons raises serious human rights issues. It also underscores how interning people in large and overcrowded camps not built for prolonged stays is in itself a factor detrimental to security.”
According to international law, legitimate and imperative security concerns may justify the internment of civilians during the height of a conflict, but it must not last longer than absolutely necessary to respond to these security concerns. Internment decisions must further be made on an individual rather than a group basis. Those who are not released must be informed about the reasons on an individual basis and be given a genuine opportunity to have this decision reviewed by an independent body.
In light of these standards and the need to properly balance security concerns with the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Representative urged the Government again to take prompt action. “I acknowledge the scope of the task that the Government confronted at the end of the military operations in May, but also observe the passage of time and the vast improvement of the security situation. Given these factors, immediate and substantial progress in restoring freedom of movement for the displaced is an imperative if Sri Lanka is to respect the rights of its citizens and comply with its commitments and obligations under international law”, he emphasized.
To address obstacles to the Government’s stated goal of decongesting these camps and allow for the return to their homes of the large majority of displaced families who do not pose a security threat, the Representative made several concrete suggestions. First, he called for an improvement of the screening procedures: “I remain particularly concerned about the slow pace of identifying those in the camps who do not pose a threat to security and the lack of transparent criteria in this regard. Such persons must not be subjected to renewed confinement and screening in districts of return. Only their immediate release from the camps will comply with the international law standards to which Sri Lanka has freely subscribed”, the Representative emphasized. Second, he recommended to pursue in parallel different options: returning displaced persons to their homes, releasing IDPs– in particular persons with special needs and their families - to host families, and establishing open relief centres in transit areas for those with nowhere else to go. “Legitimate security concerns can be addressed by other control measures than keeping people in closed camps,” Kaelin added.
The Representative recalled the importance of ensuring IDPs’ and humanitarian workers’ access to information. Information is essential to enable the displaced to learn about the fate of family members who are still separated from their relatives or were taken away for rehabilitation purposes, to assess their own situation in the camps, and to make an informed decision about their future. The right to voluntary return in safety and dignity, which is recognized by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, also demands that those returning are properly informed about the modalities of the return process and the situation in home areas -- including through the “go and see” visits envisaged by the Government, which are welcomed by the Representative.
Close and constructive cooperation and information sharing between the Government and humanitarian and development actors are the most promising ways to address these challenges in the coming weeks. The Representative also welcomed the readiness of donors to support all measures allowing IDPs to find a durable solution to their displacement. In this context, he highlighted that continued international support for humanitarian demining in areas of return is critical.
Finally, the Representative recalled the fate of those IDPs, including many Muslims, who have been displaced 20 or more years ago, and the need to include them into reconstruction programmes. “Finding durable solutions for all of Sri Lanka’s displaced in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement must remain the ultimate goal of the Government”, Walter Kaelin concluded.
Walter Kaelin, professor of law at the University of Bern (Switzerland), has been the Representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons since 2004.Learn more about the mandate and work of the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/idp/index.htm
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Media UnitRupert Colville, Spokesperson: + 41 22 917 9767
Xabier Celaya, Information Officer: + 41 22 917 9383For inquiries and media requests: press-info@ohchr.org
UN Population Fund Opens Family Health Clinics in Manik Farm
COLOMBO, 22nd September 2009 – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, in collaboration with the Family Health Bureau of the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition and the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka (FPASL), opened five family health clinics in five zones of the Manik Farm camp on 18th September at a ceremony attended by UNFPA Representative, Director of Family Health Bureau, Executive Director of FPASL and other health ministry officials.
The family health clinics will provide antenatal and postnatal exams, voluntary family planning, emergency deliveries by skilled birth attendants and psychosocial counselling, among other services. With an estimated 5,000 pregnant women in the camps, out of whom 400 will give birth within the next 4 weeks, the family health clinics will play a critical role in safeguarding the health of these women.
“UNFPA is extremely delighted to be part of this initiative in providing easy access to essential reproductive health services for women and girls within the camps themselves, and to continue to work in ensuring that their reproductive health needs are not overlooked”, said Ms. Lene K. Christiansen, UNFPA Representative in Sri Lanka.
In addition to the camp based clinics, UNFPA will continue to conduct mobile reproductive health clinics offering similar services to the family health clinics, among the displaced populations in Vavuniya. Personal hygiene packs will also continue to be distributed to displaced women and girl as well as maternity kits for pregnant women, and reproductive health equipment and supplies for hospitals providing lifesaving obstetric care for displaced women before, during and after childbirth. Further, support includes various capacity building initiatives including the training of medical officers of maternal and child health to integrate sexual reproductive health services in crisis.
European Union funds the reconstruction of Vakarai Maha Vidyalayam
Colombo - 22 September 2009 – The students of Vakarai Maha Vidyalayam are ushering in a new era of hope today with the inauguration of their newly reconstructed school building in Vakarai, 62 kilometers from Batticaloa, on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka.
The European Union (EU) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education through its implementing partner, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), supported the school reconstruction under the Community Livelihood Support Programme, which is part of the European Union's overall Tsunami Aid programme.
“Vakarai Maha Vidyalaya was shifted to a safer area after the tsunami and functioning in semi permanent learning facilities until today when the EU, through IOM, completed the construction of a completely new school”, says the Minister of Education Hon. Susil Premajayantha. “I have no doubt that the newly built modernized school will stand out as our strength and inspiration in overcoming challenges of the tsunami,- a model school for the future,” he adds.
The EUR 1.88 million (approximately LKR 300 million) school reconstruction project financed under the European Union's EUR 147 million (LKR 24.2 billion) tsunami recovery aid package comprises permanent buildings for primary and secondary sections; an assembly hall; a library; science, computer, vocational and technology laboratories; administration offices; a language centre; aesthetics rooms, and a canteen.
The government contributed the furniture and equipment for the school buildings worth nearly EUR 59,000 (LKR 10 million).
“It is with great pleasure that the Vakarai Maha Vidyalayam is gifted to the present and future students from the generous people of Europe as a token of their long standing friendship with Sri Lanka. The European Union firmly believes that the new and improved facilities of the school will be benefitted by the students in the years to come”, says the Ambassador to the Delegation of the European Commission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives H.E. Bernard Savage.
Today, Vakarai Maha Vidyalayam is the largest primary and secondary school in eastern Sri Lanka. Over 700 students from Grades 1 through 13 will benefit from the school’s modern facilities.
“IOM is pleased to partner with the European Union and the Ministry of Education in implementing the construction of this modern education institute for students and teachers who have overcome; the devastation of the tsunami and the impact from years of conflict. They will now have greater opportunity to excel in education with hope for the future”, says IOM Sri Lanka’s Chief of Mission, Mohammed Abdi Ker.
“This reconstruction work on one of the largest schools in the eastern Province is a commendable example of international cooperation, together with the participation of government, non-government and community organizations irrespective of ethnic or religious differences”, says H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in his message to celebrate the opening.
The grand opening ceremony of the school which stands as a monument to triumph over adversity for the people of Vakarai, and the next generation of Sri Lankans, will take place on 22 September 2009 at the school premises among a large gathering of distinguished guests representing the government, European Union, IOM and school officials and most importantly - the teachers and students.
UNICEF Executive Director, defends UNICEF’s voice for children in Sri Lanka
NEW YORK, 7 September 2009 – “UNICEF is extremely concerned and disappointed with the Sri Lankan Government’s decision to expel UNICEF’s chief of communications in Sri Lanka, James Elder.
“UNICEF has always upheld the principle of impartial advocacy and communication on behalf of children as a fundamental part of its global mandate. “Through Mr. Elder, UNICEF has consistently spoken out against the suffering of children on both sides of the intense hostilities earlier this year and called for their protection.
UNICEF unequivocally rejects any allegation of bias. “UNICEF will continue to uphold its mandate in Sri Lanka, and elsewhere, to advocate and speak out on behalf of vulnerable children and women."
For further information, please contact: Christopher de Bono, UNICEF NY, Tel + 1 212 303 7984; E-mail: cdebono@unicef.org Patrick McCormick, UNICEF NY, Tel + 1 212 326 7426; E-mail: pmccormick@unicef.org
UK lends support to rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants
On Friday 4 September 2009, The British High Commissioner Dr. Peter Hayes and the Head of International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mr. Mohammed Abdiker signed an agreement for approximately Rs.17 million of UK's support towards the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Ex-combatants in the presence of the Minister of Justice, Hon. Milinda Moragoda.
The Minister of Justice welcomed the support provided by the British High Commission to the Government of Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Justice and in particular the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation has been working closely with the International Organization for Migration to develop a community oriented demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration programme. The programme focuses on strengthening capacity, support to receptor communities and an active involvement of the private sector to build sustainable solutions.
High Commissioner Hayes said, "The UK fully supports efforts to ensure sustainable rehabilitation of former combatants. This will be critical to reconciliation efforts following the end of the war and will underpin a transition to sustainable peace."
The funding is drawn from the Conflict Prevention Pool (CPP) of the UK government, which is jointly managed by the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence.
FAO cleaning coral reef in Weligama Bay
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources launched a programme to clean the Kapparathota Coral Reef in Weligama Bay.
The initiative aims to improve the quality and condition of the Kapparathota coral reef, contributing to the sustainable management of marine resources in Sri Lanka and ensuring that the multiple and exotic species dependent on this magnificent marine habitat are protected. In addition, the programme will promote closer linkages among the management authorities, improve communication among stakeholders and provide a platform for future development and conservation of the marine aquarium fishers and coral reef habitats.
The programme funded by the Canada International Development Agency (CIDA) / International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) is part of a project to enhance the capacity of the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA).
A resource survey of marine aquarium species recently carried out under the CIDA/IFAD/FAO project revealed that most coral reef habitats in the southern coast of Sri Lanka have been seriously degraded, posing a significant risk to the sustainable continuity of the fisheries industry. High pollution levels and physical damage to coral reefs have lowered their potential to recover. These findings were presented at two stakeholder meetings held in the Matara District, where unanimous consensus was reached to take action. As a result, efforts are underway and will continue through this clean up programme to save the Kapparathota Coral Reef, which is the last remaining living, extensive reef in the Southern coast.
Coral reefs are the breeding and nursery grounds for a large number of marine species. In addition, they provide coastal protection, are important for coastal tourism and for the marine fish industry. In the recent past, coral reefs are being degraded on a global scale due to man-made and natural causes. Destructive fishing methods, coastal development and uncontrolled resource exploitation has had a serious negative impact on the status of coral reefs and subsequently the marine life that depends on these reefs. Coral reefs (including those in Sri Lanka) were further affected in 1998 during the widespread coral bleaching event and the 2004 tsunami. Their recovery has been slow and variable.
Key stakeholders who participated at this launch included the Weligama Divisional Secretariat, Fisheries Officers from Matara and Galle, and representatives from the Weligama Urban Council and Food Association of Tourism Service Providers.
IOM provides transport for IDPs to return home
In response to a request made by the Government of Sri Lanka, the International Organization (IOM) provided over twenty five-leased buses to facilitate the safe and voluntary return of over 1,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their native villages in Eralakulam Eravur Pattu DS Division, in the Batticaloa district.
For these families, this will be a welcome return home after being displaced for over three years. Tuesday’s (18 August) batch of resettlements will be one of the last in the government's efforts to resettle persons displaced during the recently-ended conflict in Batticaloa.
The IDP families, who were living with relatives or in displacement camps in Sittandy, some 32 kilometres from the Batticaloa town, fled their villages in 2006 in the wake of intensified fighting between government armed forces and the LTTE rebels to settle in safer locations.
“IOM commends the government on its resettlement plan and reiterates its commitment to support the humanitarian response operations as needs evolve’, says IOM Sri Lanka’s Chief of Mission, Mr Mohammed Abdi Ker.
The 1,600 IDPs will return to a safer community than when they left as the government only allows resettlement after the clearing of minefields, so families can return knowing they have a safer place to resume their lives and livelihoods.
Plans are also underway to provide temporary shelters, - an immediate need - in the resettlement areas. As men, women and children, board buses to return to their villages, another batch of IDPs await resettlement in the same district in the coming weeks.
IOM remains at the ready to further assist the government in helping families safely return home.
India contributes relief items towards UN operations in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (17 August 2009) – The United Nations has received a generous donation of relief items by the Government of India to assist hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as well as those returning to their homes in Sri Lanka.
The 600-Metric ton consignment, including plastic mats, jerry cans, items of clothing and footwear as well as packets of spices, was transported by sea to Sri Lanka last Saturday (8th August 2009) and handed over to the World Food Programme (WFP) and The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to facilitate delivery. The agencies will distribute them among the population of concern in the north and east during the coming weeks and months with a particular focus on those returning to their homes under the Government’s 180-day plan.
“This contribution is extremely important now,” said Neil Buhne, UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator. “The goods provided will help to meet the needs of the displaced in the welfare centres, but can also be used to support the return of the displaced to their homes. We are very grateful to the Indian government for helping us to better support the national effort to help the IDPs return to their normal life.”
The United Nations remains fully committed to supporting the Government of Sri Lanka to protect and assist some 500,000 displaced persons in the country, through the distribution of food and non-food items as well as the provision of shelter, education, health and livelihoods etc. with the ultimate objective of ensuring their safe return home.
IOM backs government efforts to improve skills of migrant housekeepers / domestic aides and caregivers
IOM is backing efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare (MFEPW) to improve housekeeper/domestic help and caregiver training courses to upgrade the skills of migrant workers and enhance their earning potential abroad.
The majority of Sri Lankan migrant workers are women, many of whom work as housemaids, primarily in the Arabian Gulf. The remittances that they send home are critical to Sri Lanka’s economy and in 2008 reached an estimated US $2.9 billion.
“Housekeeping and caregiving are two of the ten fastest growing occupations worldwide and there is growing demand for people with these skills in rich countries. The government recognizes that comprehensive pre-departure training will increase demand for Sri Lankan workers in this field, says IOM Sri Lanka’s Chief of Mission Mohammed Abdi Ker.
The training, which IOM has helped the MFEPW to develop following an extensive consultative process with government and the private sector, includes the development of job profiles, the entry requirements for courses, vocational training standards, curriculum and training of trainer modules.
“The enhanced training will not only send better prepared migrants. Their newly acquired knowledge will also improve their understanding of their rights and protect them from abuses”, says Shantha Kulasekera, IOM Sri Lanka’s Head of Migration Management.
The MFEPW plans to streamline the pre-departure training of migrant workers by asking all training providers to adopt the new standards and curriculum. It also intends to introduce a credible testing and evaluation system to ensure that any worker leaving Sri Lanka to work in the two sectors has successfully completed the relevant training and received a certificate. “The contribution and efforts of IOM Sri Lanka in improving the vocational skills of migrants have been timely and is a significant step forward in the right direction for the betterment of our migrant workers,” says Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare.
In addition to the two training courses, IOM has also helped to develop 25 Sri Lankan Worker Profiles for occupations in high demand abroad.The profiles are useful tools for the promotion of Sri Lankan workers abroad, outlining the knowledge, skills and attitudes expected in occupations in the hospitality, construction and janitorial sectors.
In addition to improving pre-departure training, IOM also helps the government in assessing labour migration challenges and opportunities in Sri Lanka, and conducts labour market research on opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled Sri Lankans abroad.
UNICEF supports anti-measles campaign for children in Vavuniya camps
Vavuniya 2 August 2009 - More than 36,000 internally displaced children in camps will be vaccinated against measles in a special ‘child health campaign’ launched this week. In a joint effort with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, WHO and a coalition of other partners the campaign aims to counter the sporadic cases of measles which have occurred in the past months and prevent risk of further outbreak.
The campaign will target all children under 5 years. Nearly 100 public health midwives and 1200 volunteers will participate at 30 centres in Vavuniya. This follows several weeks of preparations to pre-position immunization supplies, train health workers and mobilize volunteers.
‘Child health remains a key priority for the Government of Sri Lanka, we are committed to ensuring that the IDP population is protected’ said Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Dr Athula Kahandaliyanage.
Speaking today at a special measles training for health workers, the Deputy Director of Health Services, Dr. Ajith Mendis, thanked all of those involved in the campaign, particularly UNICEF, and urged all parents in camps to have their children vaccinated at the nearest centre.
Together with immunization against measles, children will be given a dose of vitamin A and de-worming tablets – two additional life saving interventions aimed at raising a child’s resistance against many diseases and preventing malnutrition, while freeing them from worms.
Children will also be given the polio vaccine. ‘Children under five are the most vulnerable part of a population especially in emergencies; this campaign will help save lives’ said Desiree Jongsma, Acting UNICEF Country Representative. She commended the joint efforts by the Ministry of Health Care and Nutrition, the Epidemiology Unit and all partners on this important initiative.
The measles campaign is being implemented with the generous contribution of DFID.
Globally measles remains one of the major causes of childhood illness and a leading cause of child deaths especially in countries undergoing or recovering from emergencies. Immunization activities, together with vitamin A supplementation, are the most effective means of reducing mortality during and after complex emergencies.
Brazil contribution for UNHCR non-food response among IDPs in Sri Lanka
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) welcomes a generous donation by Brazil of US$50,000 (approximately Rs. 5.6 million) towards responding to the non-food needs of hundreds of thousands displaced during the final months of conflict in Sri Lanka, especially for women and children.
UNHCR and its partners are supporting the Government of Sri Lanka with providing protection and assistance to some 280,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) accommodated in 32 emergency shelter sites in the country’s north and east. This latest donation will specifically be utilized towards providing clothing for the displaced population including skirts, blouses, gowns, children’s clothing, etc.
Following the surge in displacement in the north during the first half of this year, UNHCR made an urgent appeal to the international community to support emergency response operations through donations - in cash or kind.
“The end of the three decade long conflict in Sri Lanka was received with joy in Brazil; the Brazilian Government is glad to help to improve the situation of the IDPs and to add its contribution to a better, brighter future for them and for this country”, said Brazilian Ambassador, Mr. Pedro Henrique Lopes Borio.
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General visits Sri Lanka to discuss recovery process
Mr. Jordan Ryan, Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR), recently concluded a three-day visit to Sri Lanka.The purpose of his visit was to consult officials and the UN country team, gain insights in the current situation in Sri Lanka and explore ways in which the UN could contribute to the recovery process.
During his visit to the country between 12-15 July, Mr. Ryan travelled to the Northern districts of Vavuniya and Jaffna. Mr. Ryan visited two IDP welfare centers at Menik Farm in Vavuniya. In addition to discussions with the IDPs his visit included consultations with civil and military authorities on ways to accelerate the immediate recovery process in the district and hasten the return of IDPs to their homes. In Jaffna, the Assistant Secretary General (ASG) visited an IDP welfare centre and a few UNDP project locations including Suthanthirapuram, a resettlement site where UNDP is providing assistance with respect to housing and livelihood working closely with the community. He praised the joint interventions by the Government and UNDP as a “sustainable way of doing recovery”.
In Colombo, the Assistant Secretary General (ASG) met with senior Government Ministers including Hon. MP Basil Rajapaksa, Senior Presidential Advisor, Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights and Hon. Rishad Baduideen, Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services as well as officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also held exchanges with civil society representatives and women’s rights activists.
Mr. Ryan congratulated the Government on its efforts to lead the recovery and resettlement process.With the Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe he discussed the importance of effective protection mechanisms and a zero tolerance policy on harassment to ensure safety and security of all vulnerable populations in the camps. The Minister informed him that the Government is fully aware of the issues and is currently working to address them through measures such as the strengthening of the Human Rights Commission office in Vavuniya.
The Hon. MP Rajapaksa informed Mr. Ryan of the Government’s 180-day plan and assured him that the Government is fully committed to resettling the majority of the IDPs within the 180-day period. The Hon. MP further clarified that people will be moved as soon as demining is completed and basic infrastructure is put in place.Mr. Ryan assured the Hon. MP Rajapaksa of UNDP’s commitment to assist the recovery process through a combination of interventions ranging from support to livelihoods and housing to strengthening the capacity of local government administration to coordinate and manage the recovery effort as well as initiatives to promote community harmony.
WFP welcomes generous US$7.4 million donation from Japan
14 July 2009, COLOMBO – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a vital contribution from the Government of Japan, to assist displaced and conflict-affected people in the north and eastern part of Sri Lanka. The US$ 7.4 million (Rs. 833 million) donation has been used to procure much needed rice and canned fish for IDP’s, many of whom have experienced multi-displacements.
Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Kunio Takahashi, handed over the donation - which included 6,300 metric tons of rice and 130 metric tons of canned fish. Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament and Senior Advisor to H.E. the President, Mr. W.K.K. Kumarasiri, Secretary of the Ministry of Nation Building & Estate Infrastructure Development (MNBEID), and Mr. Adnan Khan, WFP Representative, accepted the donation on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka.
“We are very grateful for this donation from the government of Japan to help feed the vulnerable people in Sri Lanka,” commented Adnan Khan. “Japan is one of the largest donors to WFP Sri Lanka, particularly for our emergency operations,” he continued, adding that the donation will enable WFP to assist nearly 280,000 people for more than three months under WFP’s Vulnerable Group Feeding Program (VGF), which provides beneficiaries with three, nutritional daily meals.
Khan also said that the introduction of canned fish in the IDPs diet would be an additional protein source for the IDPs, whilst noting that WFP is presently facing a shortfall of US$ 15.2 million to cover humanitarian needs until the end of the year, and is proactively seeking funds from the international donor community to avoid pipeline breaks in August.
Mr. Kumarasiri remarked that, “Now, more than ever, the internally displaced people need humanitarian support, and once again, Japan has come to the fore.” “WFP and the Ministry of Nation Building has collaborated in assisting the IDPs, and I look forward to continuing the valuable partnership that has been forged with the Government of Japan.”
H.E. Mr. Kunio Takahashi remarked that, “it is our sincere hope that the rice provided under this assistance programme would meet the basic food needs of the displaced people and ease the difficulties faced by them. Japan has been making every possible effort to contribute to the peace-building and the development process of Sri Lanka, particularly in the conflict affected areas”.
Mr. Rajapaksa thanked Ambassador Takahashi for his government’s generous donation. “This donation is very timely and will provide much needed food commodities for the ongoing emergency programme in the North. I appreciate this gesture of goodwill from the Japanese community,” he said.
WFP is assisting the Government of Sri Lanka in feeding 1.2 million people through its emergency feeding and recovery programmes, including food-for-education, food-for-work and mother-and-child health and nutrition.
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency and the UN’s frontline agency for hunger solutions. In 2009, WFP aims to feed around 100 million people in 77 countries.
WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on WFP.org.
For more details see: http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=999. WFP now has a dedicated ISDN line in Italy for quality two-way interviews with WFP officials.
For more information please contact : Paulette Jones, Donor Relations Officer, WFP Sri Lanka, Tel. +94 11 4740350 ext. 2480 Adnan Khan, Country Director, WFP Sri Lanka, Tel. +94 11 4740350 ext. 2100 Marcus Prior WFP/Bangkok, Tel. +66-2-6554115, Cell. +66-81-836 9482 Natasha Scripture, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 6513 3146, Cell +39 340 466 3480 Caroline Hurford, WFP/London, Tel. +44-20-72409001, Cell. +44-7968-008474
United States government donates additional funds to WFP’s Sri Lanka operations
14 July 2009, COLOMBO–
A donation from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), consisting of US$14 million (Rs.1, 600 million) worth of food supplies, has been warmly hailed by the United Nations World Food Programme. WFP said that the much-needed food commodities will be distributed to displaced and conflict-affected people in northern Sri Lanka who are currently accommodated in temporary welfare villages.
The U.SChargé d’Affaires to Sri Lanka, James R. Moore, handed over the donation, which totals some 3,750 metric tons (MT) of lentils, 1,040 MT of vegetable oil and 14,700 MT of wheat.Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament and Senior Advisor to H.E. the President, Mr. W.K.K. Kumarasiri, Secretary of the Ministry of Nation Building & Estate Infrastructure Development (MNBEID), and Mr. Adnan Khan, WFP Representative, accepted the donation on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka.
“This donation comes at crucial time, and will allow WFP to continue with our important humanitarian interventions to assist the IDP’s, who have undergone extreme hardships,” said Adnan Khan. “The U.S. is the largest donor to WFP Sri Lanka and to our emergency operations, and this contribution demonstrates a commitment to partnering with the Government of Sri Lanka and the humanitarian community in peace building and reconstruction efforts.”
WFP says the USAID donation will allow the agency to assist 300,000 people for more than eight months under its Vulnerable Group Feeding Program, but added that additional pledges and contributions are urgently needed. The agency is currently facing a shortfall of US$ 15.2 million to cover humanitarian needs until the end of the year. Khan stated that WFP is proactively seeking funds from the international donor community to avoid pipeline breaks and possible ration cuts from August onwards.
Secretary of the Ministry of Nation Building & Estate Infrastructure Development (MNBEID), Mr. W.K.K. Kumarasiri described the donation as “a critical and significant contribution that will help consolidate the progress already made in improving the nutritional status and well-being of the IDPs.”
“Our donation will provide temporary relief to those staying in IDP camps, and will support efforts to return those displaced by the conflict to their homes as quickly as possible,” stated Moore.“We strongly support the desire of the Government of Sri Lanka to return IDPs to their homes safely and quickly so they can begin to rebuild their communities,” he continued.
Senior Advisor, Mr. Rajapaksa thanked Chargé Moore for his government’s donation and gesture of goodwill, and commented that U.S. support is vital in helping to respond to the urgent needs of the displaced peoples in the north. “We look forward to a long and positive humanitarian collaboration with the U.S.,” Rajapaksa added.
WFP is assisting the Government of Sri Lanka in feeding 1.2 million people through the emergency feeding programme and recovery programmes including food-for-education, food-for-work and mother-and-child health and nutrition.
WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on WFP.org. For more details see: http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=999.
WFP now has a dedicated ISDN line in Italy for quality two-way interviews with WFP officials.
For more information please contact (email address: Adnan Khan, Country Director, WFP Sri Lanka, Tel. +94 11 4740350 ext. 2100 Paulette Jones, WFP Donor Relations Officer, Tel + +94 11 4740350 ext. 2480 Marcus Prior, WFP Regional Public Information Officer, Bangkok, Tel. +66-2-6554115
HSBC Pledges Rs.4.1Million in support of UNHCR’s relief efforts in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, 14th July 2009 - HSBC, yesterday pledged Rs 4.1 Million to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to support non-food relief response among the internally displaced population in Sri Lanka’s North and East.
The funds will be utilized for the procurement of non-food relief items such as bed sheets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, towels, slippers and clothing for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North and East. HSBC's contribution towards this humanitarian project was made possible, through
Staff donations of one day’s salary Rs.1, 063,331.74
Matching donation from HSBC rupee for rupee Rs.1, 063,331.74 and
In addition HSBC pledging Rs 2,000,000.00.
Speaking at the event at the UNHCR Representation Office in Colombo, Nick Nicolaou Chief Executive Officer HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives said. "The HSBC Group makes significant philanthropic contributions both centrally through initiatives, like the HSBC Climate Partnership and Future First, and through local community focused programmes. We focus on educational and environmental programmes where we can build long-term relationships and make a significant difference, and as such, we are happy to play a role in the relief efforts taken to restore the lives of the people in these communities.” He also appreciated the ongoing efforts undertaken by UNHCR in managing the current humanitarian situation.
The bank has supported many projects to improve the lives of At Risk communities. One of its flagship projects is the global education initiative launched in 2007, to empower disadvantaged children in Sri Lanka through business literacy and English language programmes, as well as the United National Global Compact and UN Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty through microfinance projects.
In addition, HSBC has supported and provided emergency disaster relief and assisted in rebuilding the lives of Tsunami victims and Ratnapura flood victims in the past.
UNHCR strives to ensure that durable solutions are provided to some 600,000 persons displaced during 25 years of conflict in the country. The agency is currently focused on supporting the Government of Sri Lanka with responding to the needs of some 280,000 persons displaced in parts of the north in the last several months, with the ultimate objective of ensuring their safe return home.
Investing in the health and education of women as the global economic crisis deepens
COLOMBO, 10 July 2009 – World Population Day on 11 July stresses the importance of investing in the health and education of women as the global financial and economic crisis threatens to push 200 million people back into poverty. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, calls to make health and education of women a political and developmental priority.
The theme of this year’s World Population Day, “Responding to the economic crisis: why investing in women is a smart choice”, provides a chance to focus on the importance of investing in women and girls.
The global economic crisis threatens to reverse hard won-gains in education and health.As women represent the majority of the world’s poor they will face increased health risks especially if they are pregnant.
In her World Population Day message, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, said “today, complications of pregnancy and childbirth are leading killers of women in the developing world. And maternal mortality represents the largest health inequity in the world. This health gap will only deepen unless we increase social investments, maintain health gains and expand efforts to save more women’s lives”.
“Investing in reproductive health, in particularly, will help women and girls avoid unwanted or early pregnancy, unsafe abortions as well as pregnancy related disabilities. This would mean that women stay healthier, are more productive and have more opportunities for education, training and employment, which in turn benefits entire families, communities and nations”, the Executive Director added further.
Sri Lanka has made remarkable progress in achieving universal access to primary education and healthcare. With a literacy rate of 89.2 per cent, life expectancy at 77 years for women and maternal mortality ratio of 44.3 per 100,000 live births, Sri Lanka shows that with the right investments women’s well being can be improved even prior to achieving high levels of economic development. The current crisis is an opportunity to improve the quality of these systems and make them more cost-efficient.
UNFPA has been working Sri Lanka for almost four decades to strengthen the quality of maternal and newborn care and remains committed to support the government in its efforts to strengthen the healthcare system, advance women’s empowerment and gender equality particularly in under-served areas.
Australia Supports UN Population Fund in Providing Health Care for Displaced Sri Lankan Women
COLOMBO, 15th June 2009 – The Australian Government will donate US$383,400 (AUD 500,000) to support efforts by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, to meet the health needs of thousands of women displaced by the conflict in northern Sri Lanka.
About 75,000 of the 280,000 recently displaced people living in camps in the area are women and girls of reproductive age who need basic hygiene support and reproductive health care; an estimated 6,000 are pregnant and in urgent need of services including potentially lifesaving obstetric care.
The funding will enable UNFPA to work with government health authorities to set up family health clinics in each of the five zones of the Menik Farm camp, which accommodates the largest number of displaced people. These clinics will exclusively serve women, providing antenatal and postnatal exams, emergency deliveries by skilled birth attendants and psychosocial counselling, among other services.
“This generous contribution from the Government of Australia will be critical in safeguarding the reproductive health and personal hygiene of women in these camps,” said Ms. Lene K. Christiansen, UNFPA Representative in Sri Lanka.
The Australian support will further enable UNFPA to continue distributing personal hygiene packs to displaced women and girls, maternity kits for pregnant women, and reproductive health equipment and supplies for hospitals providing lifesaving obstetric care for displaced women before, during and after childbirth.
UNHCR and Brandix join forces again to assist Sri Lanka’s vulnerable communities
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, 11th June 2009: Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter, Brandix Lanka Limited, has strengthened its partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in an effort to address some of the key humanitarian needs of the conflict displaced communities in the country.
As part of its latest contribution, Brandix has once again stepped forward to support Quick Impact Projects (QIPs), an integral part of UNHCR’s operations in Sri Lanka, which sees the implementation of small-scale and short-term projects to support resettlement and have an immediate and long-term impact on returnee communities. These projects aim to promote return as well as facilitate stability.
In addition, Brandix is reaching out to the most vulnerable population, by extending their support towards meeting the non-food needs of the internally displaced population in the country.
Last year, UNHCR took its first steps towards forging strategic partnerships with Sri Lanka’s private sector, by tying up with Brandix to improve the water facilities and water management of the KarambeHospital and its surrounding villages in Puttalam. The project has helped better the health and welfare of the Puttalam residents and internally displaced persons.
Brandix’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts are driven by the central
corporate theme 'Water is Life' and constitute a long-term commitment to improving the living conditions of people in need, including bringing safe drinking water to households in Sri Lanka.
“Brandix is honored to support UNHCR in its initiative to help improve the lives of
vulnerable Sri Lankans,” says the Brandix Group’s CEO Ashroff Omar. “Collaborating with UNHCR has ensured that our resources were utilized efficiently and effectively to construct such an essential project swiftly.”
UNHCR’s Representative in Sri Lanka Amin Awad hailed Brandix’s commitment towards improving the lives of the displaced and return communities in the country. “Brandix is a shining example of how the private sector in Sri Lanka can step up to support the Government with providing assistance to those in need. We hope that many others will follow in their footsteps to demonstrate that corporate social responsibility edge.”
The pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector, Brandix specializes in casual bottoms, intimate and active wear, textiles, knitted fabrics, sewing and embroidery thread, accessories and hangers, and also offers wet processing and finishing and fabric printing. Brandix is a preferred solutions provider to some of the world’s leading apparel brands, including Gap, Marks&Spencer, Victoria’s Secret, NEXT, Lands End, Abercrombie & Fitch and Tommy Hilfiger.
UNHCR continues with IDP return support in northern Sri Lanka
As emergency response takes place to assist hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict in Sri Lanka’s North, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) also supported the Government of Sri Lanka with the second group of organized returns in the northwestern part of the country yesterday.
Some 2,231 internally displaced persons (IDPs) returned to seven villages in the Musali DS Division, located in the southern part of Mannar district, which at one time was controlled by the LTTE. They are among some 3,800 persons who were displaced from Musali to different parts of Mannar almost two years ago and have since then, been living in camps and with host families in the district.
As in previous returns, UNHCR support operations began weeks ago when field teams spoke with the IDPs about any concerns they may have regarding return. UNHCR accompanied the government-organized go&see visit for IDP representatives and received assurances that humanitarian mine clearance in villages of origin was completed. The agency also carried out village assessments prior to the returns to assess the level of damage to houses and basic infrastructure.
UNHCR accompanied yesterday’s returns to ensure that the process was carried out in safety and dignity. The agency together with partners also plan on distributing non-food items and providing shelter support in the return villages, once shelter assessments are complete.
Moreover, UNHCR will also provide post-return support in terms of Quick Impact Projects (QIPs). These small-scale community-driven projects have an immediate and long-term impact on communities, promoting sustainable return. After the process is complete, UNHCR staff on the ground will continue to make regular visits to the return villages to address outstanding issues or facilitate the provision of additional services.
In the context of return to Musali, the Government has applied good practices in IDP return such as certified mine clearance prior to return, go& see visits, provided transport for returnees and their belongings, and coordinated a return assistance package including food, shelter assistance and essential non-food items. UNHCR remains committed to providing support to the Government with future IDP returns in Sri Lanka’s North and East.
U.S. Government-Funded IOM Clinics to provide primary health care for displaced
TheInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) engineers have completed the first two of ten primary health care centres at the rapidly expanding Menik Farm displacement camp in Vavuniya, the government-controlled district southwest of Mullaitivu, where fighting between the government and LTTE Tamil Tigers continues.
With some 125,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) already in the camp and a further 25,000 currently sheltering in schools and public buildings in Vavuniya town expected to be transferred there, government health services in the 1,000-acre camp are stretched to the limit.
The clinics, which will each be initially staffed by two government doctors and two nurses, will provide diagnosis, emergency care, health education and referrals for the IDPs.
“The fully equipped centres will each serve 10,000 IDPs and will meet a huge need for primary health care in the camps by offering curative and preventive services. They will also take pressure off the main, referral clinic in the camp, which is now swamped with patients," says IOM Medical Coordinator Dr. Sajith Gunaratne.
"We hope that they will also serve as hubs for future community health interventions including psychosocial and mental health activities, ideally using trained health workers in the IDP population," he adds.
Last week, IOM and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining IOM’s commitment to build, equip, supply, support and monitor the centres over the next six months. This will include the provision of three ambulances, transport for government medical staff and a secure, onsite warehouse for medical supplies.
The project will be funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the development agency of the U.S. Government, which has provided more than $880,000 (Rs 105.68 million) for the centres through its Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).
“We are pleased to support IOM and provide much-needed medical assistance to thousands of IDPs in the North,” said USAID Mission Director Rebecca Cohn.“Improving the health of those displaced by the conflict is vital so they can begin to rebuild their lives,” she added.
Meanwhile IOM Vavuniya, which employs some 30 staff and over 100 labourers, is racing to erect tents for IDPs who continue to arrive. Pending the arrival of the bulk of a consignment of 4,000 IOM tents, the team has erected 1,400 tents provided by UNHCR. They previously set up 1,400 emergency shelters.
The team is also focusing on the water and sanitation needs of the vast camp, where they have constructed some 450 toilets. A fleet of 15 IOM bowsers or water tankers supplies water to the IDPs, pending the arrival of piped water on the site.
IOM relief operations for IDPs in northern Sri Lanka are currently funded by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the UK, the USA, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).
Sri Lanka has been an IOM member state since 1990 and IOM has had a major presence in the country, including six sub-offices in the north and east, since the December 2004 tsunami. In addition to emergency response and reconstruction projects, IOM Sri Lanka's activities include technical cooperation in migration management, capacity building, counter trafficking, and return and reintegration.
Lifesaving Support for Pregnant Women Displaced by Sri Lanka Conflict
COLOMBO, 7 May 2009 – At least 3,000 pregnant women have fled the fighting in northern Sri Lanka in recent days and some 350 will give birth in the next month, according to estimates by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. With health services increasingly challenged by the influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs), UNFPA is stepping up its support for the health and safety of women and girls affected by the conflict, particularly those who are pregnant.
Typically, around 15 per cent of women giving birth will develop complications that require blood transfusions or emergency surgical care. Pregnancy-related disabilities and death often rise in conflict situations when reproductive health services are disrupted.
The number of IDPs in camps run by the Sri Lankan Government rose from 65,000 to 190,000 in just a few days after a mass civilian exodus from the combat zone on 20 April 2009.
In response, UNFPA is expanding support for mobile reproductive health clinics offering prenatal and postnatal care, services for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, and psychosocial counselling. Since late December 2008, 139 mobile clinic sessions have been conducted in Vavuniya and Mannar, serving 5,550 people.
The Fund will continue distributing personal hygiene packs for displaced women and girls, maternity kits for pregnant women, and reproductive health supplies for hospitals providing emergency life-saving care for pregnant women.
Crowded conditions in hospitals and IDP camps can compromise the health of both mothers and newborns. To ease overcrowding, UNFPA has furnished a postnatal ward at the Ayurvedic Hospital in Paipeymadu Vavuniya, where displaced mothers and newborns can be sent for post-partum care. In special cases, their small children and caregivers are now being allowed to accompany the mothers.
After visiting several camps in Vavuniya recently, UNFPA Representative Lene K. Christiansen said, “In this overwhelming situation it is important that women’s unique health concerns, from their hygiene needs to life-threatening complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, are not overlooked”.
Unprecedented trade union agreements for the protection of migrant workers’ rights signed
Colombo, 7 May 2009. The protection of the rights of Sri Lanka migrant workers in Arab states is at the centre of major cooperation agreements signed today in Colombo by leaders of the Sri Lanka trade unions and their counterparts from Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, three important destination countries for Sri Lanka migrant workers. The agreements are aimed at granting Sri Lanka migrant workers “the full panoply of labour rights included in internationally-recognized standards”
Delivering the keynote address at the workshop, Mr. Sunil Sirisena, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare said “ It is not appropropriate to justify the wages received by the migrant workers for the work they are doing in these countries, because they are definitely contributing tremendously to the achieving of the development targets of these countries”, and stated that “although comparative benefits are not demanded, we strongly believe that the basic rights and the dignity of workers should be preserved as indicated in the National Labour Migration Policy”.
The text of the agreements, which is based on a model developed under the aegis of the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its Bureau for Workers’ Activities, is the first of its kind covering Asian migrant workers active in Arab States. According to the statistics by the SLBFE, there are over 300,000 Sri Lanka workers in Kuwait, over 75,000 in Jordan and 45,000 in Bahrain.
The signing of the trade union agreements coincides with the ratification of the National Labour Migration Policy by the Cabinet last week, which was formulated through a tripartite consultative process with technical assistance from the ILO. The landmark event reiterates the Government’s commitment in promoting bilateral co-operation in protecting the migrant workers’ rights as clearly articulated in the new National Labour Migration Policy.
Ms.Tine Staermose, Director of the ILO Sri Lanka Office said: “We believe trade unions have a special role to play in relation to migrant workers as this group of workers have weak bargaining power in the labour market, because they often are not organized in trade unions and sometimes not allowed to join trade unions”.
Based on the shared conviction that the benefits of labour migration for the above-mentioned countries, their national workers, and the migrant workers themselves, can best be maximized through the effective promotion and respect of workers’ rights, including basic human rights, and fundamental principles and rights at work enshrined in UN and ILO Conventions, and through the promotion of decent work for all, the trade union agreements, signed in Colombo, go on to detail a number of joint activities to be developed by the trade union organisations both in the country of origin and in countries of destination of Sri Lanka migrant workers.
These include action to “ensure that labour legislation and collective agreements fully protect all migrant workers, including those involved in temporary labour migration programmes”, the development of a model and unified employment contract for migrant workers, based on the provisions of international labour standards and enforced through national legislation and labour inspection and support for immediate action to denounce abusive practices and to find solutions to them through legal remedies or other available dispute-resolution mechanisms.
Efforts will also be made to encourage governments to ensure the strict supervision and control of activities by recruitment and employment agencies (in conformity with ILO Convention No. 181 on Private Employment Agencies), and subcontractors, as well as eliminating abuse of sponsorship schemes.
Follow-up mechanisms to the agreement include annual evaluation meetings, the preparation of information material on migrant workers’ rights to be made available to would-be migrant workers in Sri Lanka and access to trade unions in the countries of destination. As an immediate result of the agreements, Sri Lanka trade union leaders have been invited by their counterparts in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait to visit the three countries of destination and acquaint themselves of the situation.
The trade unions will also encourage governments in their respective countries to establish tripartite (Employers/ Workers/ Government) mechanism to address issues related to labour migration.
The four national trade unions in Sri Lanka and their counterparts in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait all belong to the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation, the largest global trade union body.
The Colombo agreements have been facilitated by the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities with support by the ILO International Migration Programme in Geneva as part of their global project on Effective Action for Labour Migration Policies and Practices funded by UK-DFID and by the Government of Norway in their support for the promotion of social dialogue.
UN and government of Sri Lanka appeal for aid for Sri Lanka’s displaced
COLOMBO, 5 May 2009: The United Nations and Government of Sri Lanka said today that an urgent appeal has been launched for $50 million to meet the most immediate humanitarian needs of civilians fleeing fighting in the country’s north.
The appeal comes at a time when aid agencies and the Government of Sri Lanka are struggling to cope with a sudden rise in displaced crossing into government territory, and as fighting continues over the last pocket of land held by the LTTE.
The number of people being held in government camps rose from 65,000 to 190,000 in just a few days after a mass civilian exodus when government forces breached the combat zone on 20 April. Thousands of civilians remain trapped inside that zone.
‘We must address together the current shortcomings in assistance,’ said Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights. ‘We must build confidence amongst these Sri Lanka citizens who have suffered considerably.’
The renewed appeal addresses the most urgent humanitarian needs for an estimated 250,000 people. It includes projects for food, water, sanitation, shelter, nutrition, health and protection, as well as educational requirements for thousands of children who have been without schooling for months during the escalating conflict. Minister Samarasinghe emphasized the need to work within the stipulated national framework when addressing these needs.
The displaced now in government-held territory are being housed in 42 separate sites in four districts in Sri Lanka’s north, while 2,000 injured and accompanying relatives have been accommodated in hospitals.
“It’s a critical time,” said Neil Buhne, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka. “Around a quarter of under 5 year olds in the camps are under-nourished, and they need immediate help. Tens of thousands more civilians are expected to come from the remaining zone.”
The UN has urged the government of Sri Lanka to continue to release people from camps and return them to their homes as quickly as possible. Some hundreds of people forced to flee fighting more than a year ago returned home last week to the Mannar district, and the appeal includes agricultural and economic projects to support similar returns. The Government says that it intends to return 80 per cent of the displaced to their homes by the end of 2009.
The $50 million appeal is an adjusted priority figure extracted from the Common Humanitarian Action Plan appeal for $155 million, which had been launched in March in anticipation of the evolving humanitarian crisis. Less than one third of that appeal has been funded.
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UNICEF airlifts 50 tonnes of emergency supplies as numbers in urgent need swell
Colombo, 27 April 2009 – UNICEF said that 50 metric tonnes of airlifted emergency relief supplies landed today in Colombo. The supplies will immediately be sent to northern Sri Lanka to meet some of the most urgent needs of more than 100,000 people who have fled fierce fighting over the past week.
The emergency airlift includes nutritional supplies, water treatment units for safe water, oral rehydration salts, and medical supplies. An additional airlift will follow on Tuesday.
“Sri Lanka is facing a humanitarian crisis that requires a rapid response,” said UNICEF’s Representative in Sri Lanka, Mr Philippe Duamelle. “We estimate that there are approximately a quarter of a million people who need help and they need it quickly.”
Last week UNICEF sent 50 metric tonnes of high energy biscuits for those who had just escaped fierce fighting. This is on top of the more than 130 metric tonnes of nutritional supplements that have been provided to treat malnutrition over the last weeks.
In this time UNICEF has also provided tens of thousands of hygiene kits, hundreds of water tanks and latrines, supported the construction of an emergency paediatric and emergency maternity ward at the Vavuniya General hospital, along with distributing education kits for children. Calling the situation in the north a catastrophe for children, UNICEF said that tens of thousands of civilians – including a large number of children – are still trapped in the North. In addition to being caught in the crossfire, they also desperately lack food, water and basic medical supplies such as anesthetic and antibiotics.
People who have escaped the conflict are arriving in often overcrowded camps exhausted, hungry, and in many cases wounded or sick and malnourished.
UNICEF said it was in urgent need of US$5 million to help meet their most immediate needs in health, nutrition, water, sanitation, protection and education.
UN concern about Sri Lanka's twin humanitarian crises
COLOMBO, 28 April 2009: The UN’s top humanitarian official said today that Sri Lanka faces huge challenges in meeting an unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Speaking after touring camps for people who fled fighting in the island nation’s north, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said that Sri Lanka is trying to cope with “what amounts to two quite distinct crises.”
“There are still tens of thousands of people trapped on a small patch of territory in the north, with the LTTE refusing to let them leave, and with fighting continuing,” said Holmes. “The second crisis is the swollen camps that are filling up with 200,000 people who fled the fighting, many in very poor condition, with more likely on the way soon.”
In a meeting earlier today with President Rajapakse, Holmes reiterated concerns over the level of civilian casualties, and the urgent need to assist the tens of thousands of civilians still trapped in the conflict zone, particularly with food aid and medical supplies.
“Given the fact that the LTTE has refused to let these people go, I hope that we will be given more humanitarian access to the zone,” said Holmes. “We believe that there are critical levels of hunger, and large numbers of people needing medical treatment.”
Mr. Holmes added that he welcomed the government's announcement about the scaling down of combat operations and no further use of heavy weapons, because that should reduce civilian casualties. However he said that the key was implementation in full of what had been announced, in the light of past experience. In this context he expressed great concern at initial reports of continued shelling.
Reports emerging from the camps and hospitals treating wounded civilians in the past few days have painted a picture of systems struggling to cope with the outflow of civilians. More than 100,000 people have escaped from the combat zone over the past week.
“The large numbers arriving at Omantai checkpoint in such a short space of time stretched the government’s capacity to cope, and our capacity to help,” said Holmes. “But we are now making progress with basic services such as shelter, water and food. Nevertheless it is a long way to go before we can achieve anything like satisfactory conditions. I hope donors will respond generously and I am allocating a further ten million dollars from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).”
With overcrowding a problem in the existing transit centres and camps for the displaced, Holmes urged that civilians who have been screened be given the chance to leave the camps and to rely on friends and family elsewhere.
Holmes also raised with the Government the issue of the 13 UN staff members currently being prevented from leaving IDP camps, despite repeated promises they will be released.
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UN humanitarian chief arrives in Sri Lanka seeking increased humanitarian access
(Colombo, New York, 26 April 2009): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes arrived in Colombo this morning at the start of a two-day visit to Sri Lanka.
In the course of his visit, Mr. Holmes will meet with representatives from the Government of Sri Lanka, the humanitarian country team, civil society and the donor community. Mr. Holmes will again raise extreme concerns about civilian casualties from the fighting and the need to get the tens of thousands of civilians still trapped in the conflict zone out of harm’s way without further loss of life.
He will underscore the urgent need for access by the United Nations Country Team to the conflict zone in the northeast, which the President of Sri Lanka agreed to during the recent visit of the Secretary-General’s Chef de Cabinet Mr. Vijay Nambiar, and to the screening centres through which tens of thousands of IDPs are passing on their way to the camps.
"The months of fighting during which the inhabitants of the conflict zone have been trapped have taken a terrible toll among the civilian population," Mr. Holmes said. “I call on the LTTE with all the urgency I can to let out the remaining civilian population and lay down their arms; and on the Government to exercise maximum restraint including no use of heavy weapons. We need a new humanitarian pause to get aid and aid workers into the combat zone. We must have access to all IDPs wherever they are, including in the conflict zone, and the screening process must also be made more transparent,” said Mr. Holmes.
Currently, while there is good access to the camps themselves, the UN and ICRC have access only to the screening point in Omanthai, where they are not allowed to interview those present, not to earlier screening processes in and around Killinochchi, and the UN have no access to the conflict zone. With overcrowding an increasing problem in the existing IDP camps, Mr. Holmes will also urge that civilians who have been screened be given the chance to leave those camps and to rely on friends and family elsewhere if they so wish. The early release of the inhabitants and freedom of movement are core standards which must not be denied.
Mr. Holmes will also raise with the Government the issue of the 13 UN staff members currently being prevented from leaving IDP camps, despite repeated promises from the Government to the UN that they will be released.
Finally, Mr. Holmes will review with the Government, the international aid agencies and donors the major humanitarian operation under way to help approximately 200,000 civilians who have escaped from the combat zone over the last three months. Read more...
UN appeals for funds to relieve Sri Lanka civilian plight
COLOMBO, 23 April 2009: The UN today issued an urgent appeal for funds to meet the critical needs of an exodus of thousands of people who are fleeing fighting.
Speaking from Colombo after returning from camps in the town of Vavuniya where around 80,000 exhausted civilians who escaped the combat zone are being held, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka said that teams are scrambling to feed, clothe, shelter, and provide water to “crowds of weary and hungry people.”
“I saw infants with dysentery, malnourished children and women, untended wounds, and people dressed in the ragged clothing they’ve been wearing for months,” said Neil Buhne. “We need funds for all the basics like food, medicine, water, sanitation, nutrition, shelter, and clothing. And we want to try to get kids as soon as possible back into school in order to give them some semblance of normality.”
The UN had appealed in February for $155 million to meet the anticipated increase in people escaping from the fighting in the north of the country, but has received less than one third of that amount. Since Monday, more than 90,000 people have escaped the combat zone where government and Tamil Tiger forces are fighting, in a sudden exodus that has stretched humanitarian and government resources. Aid agencies have rushed to fly emergency supplies by air into the region.
“Many of these people were forced from their homes by fighting more than a year ago, and it is something of a miracle that they have survived such a terrible ordeal,” said Buhne. “We need to ensure that no more lives are lost by meeting their immediate needs, and beyond that to help them get back on their feet, so that they can eventually return to their homes.”
The UN says that over-crowding in the camps is now a grave concern, and has urged the government to make available more land and public buildings for accommodation and to quickly identify and release people from the existing sites who present no security threat. Buhne said that while some elderly have been released, “there are many more people such as the elderly, disabled, unaccompanied children and pregnant women who could be rapidly identified and released in order to reduce the camp population.” The UN has also urged the government to release UN national staff so that they can return to work.
While more than 170,000 civilians are now believed to have escaped the combat zone since January, the UN says that it estimates that tens of thousands of people remain trapped by fighting, who have been without humanitarian deliveries of food since 1st April.
Message by Juan Somavia Director-General of the International Labour Office On the occasion of the ILO’s 90th anniversary
On 21 April 2009 we launch a global celebration of the ILO’s 90th anniversary.
Events around the world will bring together the ILO’s tripartite constituents —governments, workers and employers— and others who are mobilizing for decent work for all. These local dialogues will have global significance and impact.
They will draw strength from our history. They will tap the long experience, knowledge and networks of the ILO to address the challenges of today and to shape a better future.
We mark this anniversary at a time of profound economic and social upheaval. But for the ILO, crisis has historically provided a crucible for change. Emerging from the cataclysm of the First World War, the Organization was founded on the basic conviction that “universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice”. Through war and peace, depression and economic growth, governments, workers and employers have continued to come together in dialogue around our table of shared values: that work must be a source of dignity; that labour is not a commodity; and that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.
These values and action were recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969. Those values continue to guide and define our work today. What we are doing is more than a celebration of our past. It is a strategic opportunity to focus on the pressing priorities of people today – the need for jobs, social protection, rights at work – and to forge solutions through dialogue.
Gathering against a backdrop of rising unemployment and underemployment, business closures, deteriorating conditions of work and the undermining of respect for rights at work, along with growing inequality, poverty and insecurity, Heads of State and Government, parliamentarians, academics, members of civil society and activists will join to reaffirm the ILO’s mission—to steer a course towards social justice and a world of work based on human values.
Our values and action have set the norms for the treatment and well-being of workers – women and men – including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, equality of opportunity and non discrimination, freedom from forced labour and from child labour and safe and healthy work. These values and action have helped create sustainable enterprises that generate jobs, develop skills for all persons—wherever they live, whoever they are—and promote a movement for corporate social responsibility.
These values and action are needed more than ever to create a globalization that is fair and sustainable.
They are needed to offer voice and hope to the peoples of the world.
We offer the building blocks of the Decent Work Agenda: employment creation – including green jobs – through sustainable enterprises; solidarity in the form of social protection; upholding standards and fundamental principles and rights at work; and harnessing the creative power of dialogue and collective bargaining to find the best solutions. These are the conditions that will enable women and men to obtain work in conditions of freedom, dignity, security and equity – in times of crisis, in recovery and beyond.
Our tripartite legacy is the foundation of our future. Above all, our agenda for the twenty-first century springs from people: fuelled with the renewable energy of the human spirit, the energy and resilience of people and their reasonable demand everywhere for a fair chance at a decent job.
So together, let us answer that legitimate demand. Together, let us make the policy choices that sustain the goal of decent work; and together, let us advance the cause of decent work for social justice and a fair globalization. That’s our mission, our mandate and our responsibility.
ILO marks its 90th anniversary with global dialogue for decent work and a fair globalization
GENEVA (ILO News) – Amid the worst financial and jobs crisis since the Great Depression, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will mark its 90th anniversary in the week of 21-28 April. During this period, there will be a global convergence on the common theme of social dialogue on decent work for a fair globalization in commemorative events in more than 100 countries across the world. This launches a global dialogue aimed at fostering hope and action for an embattled world of work.
Local events will take many forms, from dialogues involving labour, employers and governments to heads of state, parliamentarians, academics, and civil society.These will include ratification of international labour standards, the launch of Decent Work Country Programmes, and technical workshops exploring solutions to the financial crisis, to job fairs and the award of government decent work prizes. A new volume entitled “The ILO and the Quest for Social Justice, 1919-2009” will also be launched on this occasion.
The events are being held against what ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia, in a statement issued for the anniversary, describes as “a backdrop of rising unemployment and underemployment, business closures, deteriorating conditions of work and the undermining of respect for rights at work, along with growing inequality, poverty and insecurity.”
“We mark this anniversary at a time of profound economic and social upheaval,” Mr. Somavia said, adding that “the universal message, the mandate and the method of the ILO will be expressed locally.”
For the ILO, crisis has always announced change. The Organization was founded in the aftermath of World War I on the principle that “universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice”, as expressed in its Constitution. In the nine decades since then, the ILO has responded to many crises through the world of work with timeless values, consistent policy messages and practical actionaimed at the pursuit of social justice.
The instruments developed within the tripartite ILO – with the direct representation of governments, employers and workers - have been the basis for much of the world’s labour legislation and have guided key developments in the world of work. They cover conditions of work, occupational safety and health, social security, employment promotion, human resource development and the fundamental goals of freedom of association and collective bargaining, abolition of forced and child labour and non discrimination, The ILO’s instruments have also focused on specific groups including indigenous peoples, migrant workers and disabled workers.
The ILO engages with constituents in its 182 member States in diverse activities covering normative activities, research, policy advisory services, information sharing and technical cooperation.
The contemporary expression of the ILO’s historic mission is embodied in the concept of Decent Work, defined as opportunities for all women and men to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
The ILO’s Decent Work Agenda has been strongly endorsed at global, regional and national levels. It iscentred on employment and enterprise, rights at work, social protection and social dialogue. This is the basis for a balanced approach to action that responds both to people’s enduring need for decent work and to the imperative of productive growth and sustainable development, "Through war and peace, depression and economic growth, governments, workers and employers have continued to come together in dialogue around our table of shared values: that work must be a source of dignity; that labour is not a commodity; and that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere”, the ILO Director-General underlined. “These values and action were recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969. Those values continue to guide and define our work today.”
In 2004, the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization set up by the ILO anticipated many dimensions of the current crisis, given the trajectory of the prevailing model of globalization which produced global imbalances characterized by the Commission as being “morally unacceptable and politically unsustainable.”
Noting that the celebration was an opportunity to reaffirm the ILO’s fundamental values and take action to confront the uncertainties working families and enterprises are facing today, Mr. Somavia added, “Together, let us make the policy choices that sustain the goal of decent work; and together, let us advance the cause of decent work for social justice and a fair globalization. That’s our mission, our mandate and our responsibility.”
The ILO has advocated a decent work approach to the crisis based on a productive recovery. It has proposed a number of measures that bring together employment creation, including green jobs, sustainable enterprises; increased social protection; and upholding standards and fundamental principles and rights at work in integrated approaches while harnessing the creative power of dialogue to find inclusive responses.
As a concrete and practical initiative, Mr. Somavia proposes that the annual International Labour Conference to be held in Geneva in June agree to a Global Jobs Pact that would boost economic recovery and the construction of a new pattern of fairer and more inclusive globalization, focusing on the Decent Work Agenda.
On this occasion, the ILO reiterates its call for global action for decent work and invites all advocates of a people-centred, balanced and sustainable course for the future to mobilize for decent work.
Statement of the Secretary-General on Sri Lanka
12 April 2009. I welcome the announcement made today by the Government of Sri Lanka that it will observe a two day pause in offensive military operations. This is less than the full humanitarian pause of several days I had pressed for but is nevertheless a useful first step and an opportunity to move towards the peaceful and orderly end to the fighting now so badly needed.
I call on the LTTE to take concrete and immediate steps to protect civilians by respecting the pause, for its full duration.
The United Nations has been in discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka and other concerned parties in recent months and weeks to explore ways in which the suffering of innocent people in the Vanni region can be brought to an end or lessened. I have personally been involved through discussions with President Rajapakse.
The United Nations will therefore do whatever it can to support this humanitarian pause and help end the grave predicament of civilians in the conflict zone, including through the provision of more aid to those still trapped in the zone.
During this period, civilians wishing to leave the conflict zone should be allowed to do so without any hindrance and should then be treated fully in accordance with international standards and principles. In particular the LTTE must allow civilians to choose whether they stay or leave.
This is a terrible conflict that must be ended as soon as possible. In the meantime, with tens of thousands of lives at risk on the beaches of northern Sri Lanka, I call on the government forces to adhere scrupulously to the commitments of the government about non-use of heavy weapons. I also count on key members of the international community to support this pause and to continue to do all they can to avert further death and suffering in Sri Lanka.
End.
UN Staff Forcibly Recruited
COLOMBO, 16 March 2009: The UN said today that it holds grave fears for the safety of one UN national staff member, and three dependent family members who were forcibly recruited over the weekend by the LTTE, inside the government-declared No Fire Zone. The forced recruitments included the 16 year old daughter of a UN national staff member.
The UN in Sri Lanka has protested to the LTTE that UN national staff, as well as children in general, are protected under national and international law from recruitment by armed groups, and has called for their immediate release. Another UN national staff member was recruited two weeks ago, and has yet to be released despite repeated requests from the UN. Ends/.
The Secretary-General's Message on INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 8 March 2009
One year ago, I launched a campaign calling on people and governments the world over to unite to end violence against women and girls.The campaign will run through 2015, the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.The link with the Goals is clear.We must stop the habitual and socially ingrained violence that mars lives, destroys health, perpetuates poverty and prevents us from achieving women’s equality and empowerment.
Violence against women is also linked to the spread of HIV/AIDS.In some countries, as many as one in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.Women and girls are also systematically and deliberately subject to rape and sexual violence in war.
Violence against women stands in direct contradiction to the promise of the United Nations Charter to “promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.”The consequences go beyond the visible and immediate.Death, injury, medical costs and lost employment are but the tip of an iceberg.The impact on women and girls, their families, their communities and their societies in terms of shattered lives and livelihoods is beyond calculation.Far too often, crimes go unpunished, and perpetrators walk free.No country, no culture, no woman, young or old, is immune.
Increasingly, men, too, are speaking out against this stain on our society. Global examples include the White Ribbon Campaign and the V-Day Campaign’s “V-Men” counterpart.And at community workshops, men are teaching other men that there is another way and that “real men don’t hit women”.
Changing mindsets and the habits of generations is not easy.It must involve all of us – individuals, organizations and governments.We must work together to state loud and clear, at the highest level, that violence against women will not be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance.
We need economic and social policies that support women’s empowerment.We need programmes and budgets that promote non-violence.We need a positive image of women in the media.We need laws that say violence is a crime, that hold perpetrators accountable and are enforced.
The “Unite to End Violence against Women” campaign encourages men and women to join hands to oppose violence against women.Only by acting together can we create more equal and peaceful societies.Let us all, on this International Women’s Day, resolve to make a difference.
International Women’s Day - Message of UNFPA Executive Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid
Today on International Women’s Day, let us unite to end violence against women and girls.
Whether it is human trafficking, domestic violence, crimes committed in the name of honour or passion, child marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting, or sexual violence, which in many conflict situations has reached alarming proportions, violence against women and girls constitutes a shameful crime that is too often shrouded in silence and too seldom punished.
Today, we call on all political leaders, community leaders and religious leaders to stand up against the violence to which women and girls are subjected. We call for public dialogue and open debate. We urge authorities in all countries to enact and enforce laws to bring justice to offenders, and to provide health services and social support to survivors.
We pay tribute to the women who have provided leadership on this issue and we urge more men and boys to use their influence for positive change. Together, we can change social norms and attitudes that condone discrimination and violence against women and girls.
Together, we can strengthen legal systems, access to justice and the rule of law for protecting and upholding human rights. Together, we can provide social support and health services to survivors. We need to guarantee the right to sexual and reproductive health, and provide information and services for family planning, safe motherhood and HIV prevention.
Violence against women and girls is not a women’s issue—it is an issue that concerns and diminishes us all. No custom, tradition or religion can justify cruel and degrading treatment.
Today, let us stand in solidarity with women and girls who deserve to live in dignity, free of fear and shame. Let us champion zero tolerance of violence against women and girls in our homes, schools, places of work and worship, our communities and nations. It is time for men and women, and boys and girls to work together to end these shameful violations of human rights.
Today and everyday, UNFPA, as part of the United Nations, will support country efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls, and to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality and reproductive health and rights.
National Campaign against the recruitment of child soldiers launched
26 February, Colombo - The President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a national campaign to prevent child recruitment, and to promote the release of all recruited children.
The campaign, “Bring Back the Child”, targets armed groups, vulnerable communities and the children affected. The campaign’s call for child recruitment to stop goes hand in hand with the provision of reintegration and rehabilitation services for children who are released. ‘Bring back the Child’ will air on television, radio and through newspapers, billboards and posters across the country, with a focus on the north and east, and in the country’s three languages – Sinhalese, Tamil and English.
“The Government of Sri Lanka has a zero tolerance policy on the recruitment of children, and the recruitment of anyone under the age of 18 to take part in hostilities is against both Sri Lankan and international law,” said the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation, Mr Suhada Gamalath. “This campaign reinforces the message that children who are recruited are victims of crimes committed against them. Children released or escaping from armed groups have nothing to fear – they will be treated as children in need of immediate support.” ‘Bring back the Child’ is a multimedia campaign that calls on those who recruit children to stop, and for those children currently in their ranks to be released so that they can return to their families and have access to services including health care, psychosocial support, education and vocational training. Concurrently ‘Bring Back the Child’ will strengthen the capacity of communities to protect children against the threats of recruitment.
“Child soldiers live in a theatre of violence and suffering where their lives are at great risk,” said Mr Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF’s Representative in Sri Lanka. “Many are killed or maimed. Those who survive suffer traumatic events with often grave psychological implications. Even those who avoid combat lose precious years that cannot be replaced. Instead of having hope for the future these children live in fear of what tomorrow may bring. However, following their release they can and they do adapt if they are given a second chance at childhood. This campaign is one part of that.” UNICEF has been monitoring and reporting on child recruitment in Sri Lanka since 2002. In this time nearly 7,000 children have been reported to UNICEF by their families as having been recruited to armed groups. Between 2002 and 2009, some of these child soldiers were released, others passed the age of 18, some are still trapped as child soldiers, and some have been killed in the conflict.
Sri Lanka was among the first countries to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Within this Protocol, Sri Lanka committed to take action against the recruitment of children and provide rehabilitation support to children released from armed groups. UNICEF works closely with the Office of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation who has made great strides in ensuring legal protection for children affected by child recruitment and in providing care and protection for children who have been released.
This collaboration between the Government of Sri Lanka and UNICEF also resulted in the signing in December 2008 of an Action Plan between the Government, the TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal), and UNICEF, together with the adoption of new special regulations which strengthen the legal protection of children released from armed groups. Furthermore, a rehabilitation centre for former child soldiers was opened, as was a Child Welfare Unit in Batticaloa where parents and relatives can come and report the recruitment of their children and be provided with a coordinated response to get the children released.
For further information, please contact:
Nandani Gunawardana, Ministry of Justice 011-2449959 or
James Elder, Communication Chief, UNICEF Mobile: 94-777416742, Office: 94-11-2555270 ext 250 jelder@unicef.org
WFP Launches “Fill the Cup” campaign Astra pledges Rs1.5 million to feed hungry school children
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Sri Lanka announced that its “Fill the Cup” campaign, received a welcome boost from Astra - a brand of Unilever Sri Lanka - pledging a contribution of Rs1.5 million to the campaign. “Fill the Cup” is a worldwide campaign, launched earlier this year to raise awareness and funds for the 59 million children in the world's developing countries who go to school hungry.
In Sri Lanka, “Fill the Cup” aims to literally fill a cup with food for 350,000 school children targeted by WFP and the Government of Sri Lanka – boosting their chances for health, education and a more promising future. WFP calculates that approximately Rs1.2 billion is needed per year to reach 350,000 children. While the sum may seem large, just Rs17 can provide one child with one cup of porridge or rice and curry. The price of a cup of coffee (Rs100) is enough to feed a child in school for one week.
“We need to lay a foundation for the future generation. Meals during school days give children the nutrition and concentration to learn and grow. School feeding jointly initiated and implemented by the government in partnership with WFP has helped improve the health and nutrition of school children by providing valuable micronutrients, vitamins and minerals and improved children’s learning outcome,” said Adnan Khan, WFP Representative and Country Director.
The campaign is also supported by the government through the Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development (MNBEID), WFP’s implementing partner.“With joint collaboration and partnership, we will be able to reach the most vulnerable segment of the population, which this campaign is targeting. This is a great initiative to support school feeding to build future generations,” said Mr. W.K.K. Kumarasiri, Secretary of MNBEID.
Unilever, a corporate partner for WFP, pledged Rs1.5 million to enhance child vitality, through this program, helping WFP kick-start the campaign. “Family Goodness and Together for Child Vitality” are the values embodied in Unilever’s margarine range. “The mission of the flagship brand of the range, Astra, is to grow great kids, which tallies exactly with the objective of this project,”said Ms. Manojee Dabare, head of the spreads range of products at Unilever Sri Lanka.
Unilever recognises a greater role than merely contributing funds towards this project. Through its communications, it will continue to raise awareness of the importance of a balanced diet to enhance the nutrition and health of school-aged children as well as provide assistance to raise more funds.Unilever will assist WFP place collection tills in over 100 supermarkets and retail outlets in Colombo and suburbs.
Further assistance expected from Unilever includes direct engagement through its Employee Assignment Program. This unique scheme offers employees an opportunity to volunteer their services and contribute skills, knowledge, and time toward the success of the “Fill the Cup” campaign.
“We propose to contribute 50 cents from every sale of Astra margarine over a period of one month in April 2009, one of our peak selling periods was selected with the intention of maximising the contribution towards this worthy program. We expect the final contribution through this sale to be higher than the Rs1.5 million pledged today,” said Dabare.
WFP feeds 1.2 million vulnerable people in Sri Lanka through emergency food aid and recovery assistance interventions, out of which 350,000 school children benefit from school feeding annually (nearly half of whom are girls). Since 2003, WFP, in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka, has been providing some 62 million meals per year, which has helped improve children’s ability to concentrate at the school and enrolment.
“Any individual, company or institution is invited to join this initiative by contacting WFP or visiting WFP’s website (www.wfp.org). Your support will feed minds, change lives,” said Khan.
Chief Urges Greater Action to Save Civilians in Sri Lanka
(COLOMBO/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 21 February 2009): Wrapping up a three-day visit to Sri Lanka, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) John Holmes, urged the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to intensify efforts to prevent the continuing civilian casualties and to protect the civilian population trapped in a small pocket of land held by LTTE fighters and surrounded by Government forces. "I came because I am desperately concerned about this humanitarian situation. Tens of thousands of civilians have been cut off from outside food supplies for weeks, have limited medical care and are in extreme danger because of the continued fighting,” Mr. Holmes said.
The ERC called on the LTTE to free civilians kept in the remaining combat zone against their will, and to stop forced recruitment, particularly of children. He also pressed the Government to ensure a peaceful, orderly and humane end to what appears to be a decisive stage of the conflict.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Holmes met with Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa. He made clear his condemnation of the LTTE attack on Colombo the previous night and expressed his sympathy for the families of the victims. They discussed the plight of those still trapped in the Vanni and agreed that urgently needed food and medical supplies would be stepped up. In other constructive meetings with senior government ministers and officials, including the Senior Advisor to the President, the Defense Secretary and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Disaster Management and Human Rights, and Resettlement, the UN humanitarian chief also raised the need for reception and care arrangements for those crossing battle lines into Government controlled areas to meet the relevant international standards and principles.
On Friday, Mr. Holmes visited Vavuniya, just south of the conflict area, where more than 30,000 people had arrived over recent weeks. He found that most were mentally and physically exhausted after weeks of sheltering in makeshift bunkers but that their basic needs were being catered for. Mr. Holmes welcomed the increasingly good cooperation between Government officials, UN agencies and NGOs in providing urgent food, shelter and medical help, and noted the key challenges ahead, including rapid and transparent registration procedures, reinforcing the civilian nature of the camps, facilitating family reunification and greater freedom of movement, and ensuring the earliest possible return of IDPs to their homes. He welcomed government assurances on all these issues, and the increasingly full access for agencies and NGOs to the transit centres and camps.
The ERC also announced a $10 million contribution from the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help meet urgent humanitarian needs for those fleeing the conflict.
UNFPA: Caring for the Needs of Women Caught in Sri Lanka’s Crisis
COLOMBO, 20th February 2008 – Women and girls caught up in the ongoing warfare in northern Sri Lanka are at grave risk. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is assisting civilians who have escaped the combat area but remains greatly concerned for the health and safety of the tens of thousands who remain, particularly those who are pregnant.
Some 32,000 displaced persons have reached Vavuniya district this month; among them an estimated 700–800 are women at different stages of pregnancy. Pregnancy-related disabilities and death often rise in conflict situations when reproductive health services, including prenatal care, assisted delivery and emergency obstetric care, are disrupted and often unavailable. Many women lose access to family planning services exposing them to unwanted pregnancies in perilous conditions.
UNFPA, in cooperation with district health authorities, is supporting Vavuniya and Mannar districts by providing emergency transport for life-saving obstetric care. Surgical instruments for caesarean operations have been provided to the Vavuniya General Hospital which serves displaced women with pregnancy complications. At the same time, safe delivery kits are being distributed to pregnant women in camps for the displaced.
Mobile reproductive health clinics offering a range of reproductive health services – including prenatal and postnatal care and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV – have also been set up in these two districts. Sanitary towels and undergarments are being provided to allow women and girls of reproductive age to maintain their basic personal hygiene. UNFPA is also working closely with health authorities to ensure that camps for the displaced have separate bathing and toilet facilities for men and women and well lit paths to ensure the safety of women and girls.
“Women do not stop getting pregnant or giving birth to their babies even when on the move or when living in camps,” said Lene K. Christiansen, UNFPA’s Representative in Sri Lanka. “Being able to maintain personal hygiene is not only a matter of health but also one of individual dignity,” she noted. “We try hard to make sure that these women and girls have access to needed services”. She also emphasized that the health authorities in Mannar and Vavuniya are doing an admirable job under very difficult circumstances.
With the influx of civilians to Mannar and Vavuniya expected to continue in the coming weeks, UNFPA together with other UN agencies plans to increase its support in response to the growing needs. It seeks additional donor support for this effort as part of the United Nations Common Humanitarian Action Plan for Sri Lanka, launched on 18th February 2009.
Sri Lanka: Aid community issues humanitarian plan
COLOMBO/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 19 February 2009: The Interagency Standing Committee Country Team in Sri Lanka has issued a Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP) for humanitarian and early recovery assistance for 2009. The CHAP is asking donors for US$155.5 million for 103 projects to be carried out by UN and NGO partners, to address the needs of conflict-affected communities in northern and eastern districts of the island.
The CHAP comes at a time when the Government of Sri Lanka is battling the LTTE in the north-east of the country. After slow gains during the first half of 2008, rapid Government advances have pressed the LTTE into a last remaining pocket of territory, uprooting hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes. Some 30,000 people have recently crossed into government-held territory, and the government, UN and NGOs are engaged in providing urgently needed services to newly constructed camps, even as tens of thousands more are expected.
Requirements covered in the CHAP include food aid, shelter/non-food items/camp management, protection, economic recovery and infrastructure, agriculture, health care, water and sanitation, education, and nutrition. Food aid accounts for almost US$60 million alone. The CHAP also stipulates that sustained and safe access to needy populations is a prerequisite for successful implementation.
“While last year's generous donor response allowed us to implement important stabilizing projects in the re-captured east, I remain concerned about the ability of aid staff to gain access to those in need, especially in northern conflict areas,” said John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
The CHAP envisages that security in Sri Lanka will remain fragile throughout 2009, with gradually improving access to the Jaffna peninsula because of direct road access through territory recently re-captured by Government forces. It emphasizes a return to employment for the displaced, while acknowledging that the global economic downturn will present a challenge to recovery efforts.
The protection of civilians remains a key challenge in Sri Lanka. The United Nations and partner NGOs are working closely with government counterparts, local authorities and protection networks to address protection concerns faced by civilians – especially children – caught up in the conflict, and to support returning communities. Of the US$17.2 required for 2009, $13.7 million is needed immediately to ensure adequate protection monitoring, reporting and response during the next three months.
Since the conflict began nearly three decades ago, more than 70,000 people have lost their lives. The UN says that the toll on civilians in the latest phase of the fighting has been heavy, with especially serious consequences for children. End./
More children victims of the conflict, says UNICEF
With a growing number of children being recruited by the LTTE and scores of children being killed or injured in fighting, UNICEF today expressed its gravest concerns for children, as Sri Lanka’s conflict enters a new phase.
“We have clear indications that the LTTE has intensified forcible recruitment of civilians and that children as young as 14 years old are now being targeted,” said Mr Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF’s Representative in Sri Lanka. “These children are facing immediate danger and their lives are at great risk. Their recruitment is intolerable.”
From 2003 to the end of 2008, UNICEF has recorded more than 6000 cases of children recruited by the LTTE. “Child soldiers suffer physical abuse, traumatic events and face death. Instead of hope, fear defines their childhood,” said Duamelle.
UNICEF also said it was extremely alarmed at the high number of children being injured in the fighting in the northern area of Sri Lanka known as the Vanni. “Scores of injured children have been evacuated in the past week,” said UNICEF’s Duamelle. “Children are victims of this conflict by being killed, injured, recruited, displaced, separated and denied their every day needs due to the fighting.”
The main injuries to children have been burns, fractures, shrapnel and bullet wounds. UNICEF reiterates the call it has made time and again to Government and the LTTE – civilians, especially children, must be given every protection from the fighting. UNICEF, together with other UN agencies and partners, is responding to the needs of 30,000 people who have been able to leave the Vanni and are now receiving humanitarian assistance away from the conflict.
UNICEF’s emergency support is in water and sanitation, nutrition, protection and education. UNICEF said it is crucial all civilians in the Vanni are able to leave and reach a safe area where they can be urgently assisted.
COLOMBO, 16 February 2009: The United Nations’ concern for the welfare of the civilian population caught up in the fighting has heightened based on reports received in the last few days. While the designation of the new safe zone has provided some respite for the tens of thousands of civilians trapped for weeks by heavy fighting which has killed and injured many people, reports from yesterday indicate that there was some fighting inside the zone. This fighting led to the deaths and injury to yet more civilians. The United Nations calls for the Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE to refrain from fighting in areas of civilian concentration. The LTTE continues to actively prevent people leaving, and reports indicate that a growing number of people trying to leave have been shot and sometimes killed. There are indications that children as young as 14 are being recruited into the ranks of the LTTE.
Fifteen United Nations staff and 75 of their dependents, 40 of whom are children, and 35 of whom are women, remain in the same area, having also been prevented from leaving by the LTTE. Fifteen of these children have contracted respiratory diseases, a serious indicator for a population which is now in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
We are acutely aware that the suffering of our own UN staff and dependents is just one part of a much larger picture. However their release would be a good gesture and would strengthen the capacity of the UN to assist the tens of thousands of people both inside the Vanni pocket, and the approximately 30,000 IDPs who have left for government held areas. Despite their own vulnerable position, many of these staff played an important role in helping with the distribution of 8,400 of tons of food to the civilians of the Vanni over the past four months. We are especially concerned that one staff member was reported forcibly recruited into the LTTE yesterday. The UN calls on the LTTE to immediately release him, to desist from further recruitment of civilians, and to permit passage for people who wish to leave, especially the women and children.
Tens of thousands of civilians remain in the “Vanni Pocket,” including a large number of children. They are experiencing serious shortages of food, medicine, and clean water, and as a result increasing numbers are becoming ill. Efforts to bring in more food and medicines have not yet been successful, and it is imperative that these needs be met.
The UN calls on both sides to find an orderly and humane solution so that civilians – and children in particular - can be spared further bloodshed and loss of life due to both disease and the fighting.
End.
Colombo, 9 February 2009: The United Nations in Sri Lanka condemns today’s suicide attack on a registration centre for displaced people fleeing the conflict zone. The attack killed and wounded many civilians, including children. Those killed had already been forced from their homes by fighting, and had endured terrible hardships.
The UN reiterates that civilians must be distinguished from combatants, and protected fromthe fighting. It calls once again on the LTTE to separate its forces from civilians under its control. End/.
Colombo, January 30, 2009 – The United Nations in Sri Lanka has provided US$125 million in development aid to Sri Lankans in 2008.
Speaking after the first joint Annual Review of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), Mr. Neil Buhne, UN Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator said that the funds represented the collective efforts of the UN to support the Sri Lankan government over 5 years in its efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals and the National Development Plan.
“This process integrates the UN’s development activities so that we can best help as a team of partners to bring the fruits of development to all Sri Lankans,” said Buhne. “This includes providing advice on developing sound economic and social policies, building capacity of local institutions to effectively implement policies and working with communities promoting sustainable livelihoods.
In his opening speech, Mr. Sumith Abeysinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Finance, underscored the importance of the UN system support, stating that the combined work through the UNDAF has increased the efficiency of programme implementation.
“I believe that progress has been seen in the areas of cooperation in 2008 as a result of the fruitful collaboration between government partners at local level with various UN agencies,” said Abeysinghe. He noted that the objectives in the UNDAF and Mahinda Chinthana have been synchronized while expressing the government’s ownership and commitment to the implementation of the UNDAF in the years to come.
While representing the over-arching framework for the work of the UN, the UNDAF, which has been operational since 2008, is also a “living document” with continued reviews and monitoring of programmes to ensure that UN’s support is fully aligned to country’s development priorities.
End. / For more information, please contact: Mr. Gordon Weiss, UN Spokesman, Sri Lanka +94 – 11.2580691 or 11 4528689 Ext.286 Email: weissg@un.org United
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of civilians caught in intensified fighting in the Vanni region of Sri Lanka between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka. He calls on the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka to accord immediate and absolute priority to ensuring the protection and well-being of civilians, including humanitarian aid workers.
The Government and the LTTE must ensure that all people, including the displaced, are treated in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.
The Secretary-General calls on both parties to respect “no fire zones,” “safe areas,” and civilian infrastructure including schools, medical facilities and humanitarian facilities and assets.
He is deeply concerned that the civilian population in the area is in increasingly dire need of humanitarian aid, including food, water, sanitation, and shelter. The Secretary-General also calls for all parties to allow and facilitate the movement of 250,000 civilians currently in the area of fighting to safe areas.
The Secretary-General appreciates the cooperation of the Government of Sri Lanka in facilitating the relocation of UN staff and their dependents and trusts that all parties will further cooperate with their relocation to Vavuniya as soon as possible.
The Secretary-General is also very concerned about attacks on members of the media and urges all parties to demonstrate respect for the freedom of the press.
New York, 26 January 2009
Aid Agencies Help Jaffna Farmers Plant Potatoes
COLOMBO, 12 December 2008: Aid agencies have sent a consignment of seed potatoes to Jaffna, for distribution to hundreds of farmers before the end of the monsoon season.
Responding to a request made by the Government Agent in Jaffna coordinated by the Ministry of Social Services and Social Welfare, Approximately 58 metric tons of seed potatoes is being supplied to some 500 conflict-affected farmers, some of whom are also Samurdhi beneficiaries who are restarting their livelihoods.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) worked closely together to import the seed potatoes directly from the Netherlands and to ensure that this joint effort complements other programmes these agencies are involved with in Jaffna to increase people’s well being. Since there is a current shortage of potatoes in the district, this distribution will boost production in what is considered to be one of the most fertile regions for potato farming in Sri Lanka.
The Department of Agriculture, the Agrarian Services Centre and the Government Agent in Jaffna are assisting with the distribution of the seed potatoes, ensuring efficiency and fair distribution.
“By swiftly responding in this targeted fashion, and as team with the expertise of different UN agencies, we’re boosting critical producers, helping create jobs and adding to the food security of this country,” said Neil Buhne, UN Resident Coordinator.
This joint effort will also complement efforts to mark 2008 as the United Nations International Year of the Potato. Potatoes are an integral part of the global food system and its consumption is expanding strongly in developing countries, which now accounts for more than half of the global harvest. In addition, the ease of cultivation of this crop and its high energy content have made it a valuable cash crop for millions of farmers.
The UN remains committed to helping developing countries such as Sri Lanka boost food production in close cooperation with the local government and entities.
Ends./
Migrants as Part of the Solution during Economic Crises, says IOM on International Migrant's Day
GENEVA- 18 December 2008 - Countries
should recognize the positive contribution that migrants can make to economic
growth and recovery and resist the temptation to close doors to them in times
of economic slowdown, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
as it marks International Migrants’ Day today.
“Although the economic crisis is still unfolding and
its full impact remains unclear, it would be counter-productive for governments in developed countries to close
their doors to migrants. Many of them are still needed in jobs that citizens in
industrialized countries are unable or unwilling to take,” says
IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.
This structural need for migrants, who represent the human face of globalization,
is underlined by demographic projections showing that by 2050, these
countries will experience even greater labour shortages due to falling birth
rates and aging working populations, leaving twice as many people over 60 years
of age than children. Indeed, migration has become a linchpin of globalization.
“Closing doors will undoubtedly encourage migrants to
use the exploitative, abusive and often life-threatening back entrance into destination
countries offered by human smugglers and traffickers. Just as importantly, such
a reaction risks contributing to greater social division and xenophobia towards
migrants already in these countries by perpetuating the myth that migrants are
job-takers,” says Swing.
The economic crisis should also not be used to exploit
migrants in the informal sector through the lowering or non-payment of wages,
abuses to which undocumented migrants are especially and routinely vulnerable.
Their continued ability to send money back home is
crucial to fighting poverty in migrant origin countries, where families are
often dependent on such funds to pay for basic needs such as food, housing,
health and education. Families all over the world are already suffering the
consequences of reduced remittances and face an uncertain future.
Closing the door to migrants would also negatively impact
on the increases in remittances to developing countries witnessed year-on-year,
and which now far exceed official development assistance (ODA) flows. This
growth rate has already seen a sharp deceleration in the past few months,
particularly to Sub-Saharan Africa where remittances are probably needed the
most. The World Bank now estimates that remittances to developing countries in
2009 will be less than the estimated total of US$ 283 billion for 2008.
“It becomes ever more crucial to ensure that ODA
levels do not drop at this time to ensure that poverty and development gaps
aren’t exacerbated by this economic crisis. If they are, then the pressure on people
to migrate by whatever means they can find will increase,” Director General
Swing adds.
At the same time, migrant-origin countries have a
greater responsibility to fully inform their citizens of the realities of both
regular and irregular migration and step up to the challenge of working more
closely than before with destination countries and societies to ensure
migration becomes a win-win situation for all involved.
“Let’s not make a migrant crisis out of an economic
crisis. Keeping sight of the fact that migrants are part of the solution for
both countries of origin and destination can help in coming out of this crisis
sooner rather than later,” Swing concludes.
Ends.
UN Population
Fund Supports Flood Victims in Mannar
COLOMBO, 17 December 2008 — UNFPA, the
United Nations Population Fund, together with district health authorities is supporting
flood victims in Mannar district by providing hygiene packs and conducting
mobile reproductive health clinics. This was initiated as a result of a
discussion between the UNFPA Representative Lene K. Christiansen and Dr. R. S.
Jude, the Regional Director of Health Services in Mannar, on 28th
November 2008.
UNFPA has distributed
10,000 hygiene packs worth US$ 70,000, consisting of sanitary towels and other
toiletries to allow women and girls of reproductive age maintain basic personal
hygiene. Under its humanitarian programme, UNFPA has been distributing these hygiene
packs and supporting the Regional Director of Health Services, with civil
society partners, to conduct mobile reproductive health clinics to conflict
affected people. Given the sudden
increase in displaced people due to floods, UNFPA has now extended this support
to ensure the continuity of reproductive health services also for people
affected by the recent floods. The mobile clinics provide services of antenatal
care, postnatal care and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and
HIV/AIDS.
***
UNFPA, the United Nations
Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right
of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity.
UNFPA supports countries in using population data for
policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is
wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every
girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
For
more information, please contact UNFPA:Ms.
Lankani Sikurajapathy, tel. 11-2580840, mob. 77-3411614, email: sikurajapathy@unfpa.org
WORLD POPULATION DAY 2008
Global Observances to Highlight Benefits of Family Planning UNITED NATIONS, New York, 10 July 2008—More than 140 countries worldwide will observe
World Population Day on 11 July by emphasizing the importance of family
planning for the wellbeing of families, communities and nations, and by
underlining the need to further integrate such services into national
development plans.
The theme of World Population Day 2008,
“Family Planning: It’s a Right; Let’s Make it Real”,provides a chance
to raise awareness of the many benefits of family planning, including
its vital role in enhancing maternal health, gender equality and poverty reduction.
World leaders have proclaimed that individuals have a basic human right
to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their
children, yet modern contraception remains out of reach for hundreds of
millions of women and men. World Population Day activities will vary in
scope and nature, ranging from rallies, performances and exhibitions,
to sports competitions, seminars and cultural events. They will all
have one thing in common, which is to reaffirm the right of people to
plan their family size, thereby helping to make this right real.
In
his World Population Day message, United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban
Kimoon said: “Studies show that family planning has immediate benefits
for the lives and health of mothers and their infants.” He added, “On
World Population Day, let us focus on the critical importance of family
planning if we are to successfully achieve the Millennium Development
Goals.
“Let us take action to reduce maternal mortality and
achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015,” said Mr. Ban.
“Let us devote greater attention and resources to the work to improve
the health and quality of life for all people.”
In a separate
message, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United
Nations Population Fund, said that family planning “is essential to
women’s empowerment and gender equality. When a woman can plan her
family, she can plan the rest of her life.
“Family planning is
also an effective means in the fight against poverty,” said Ms. Obaid.
“Parents can plan ahead and devote more of their resources to the
education and health of each child.”
ILO Good Job media release 2008
Planning
corporate CSR strategies, recruitment strategies, development policy,
or development training on youth and employment issues? “A Good Job?”
is often the question asked by young Sri Lankans in their hunt for
employment and livelihood. And equally often, young people do not find
“good” jobs but, instead, must be content with whatever they find – if
they find jobs at all.
With the problem of youth
unemployment, a major issue afflicting this country for decades, with
successive rural youth rebellions directly linked to this problem, the
new video discussion programme recently produced on this subject is
designed to help corporate strategists, development agencies, social
service organizations and local community groups to engage with the
problem with more awareness.
International Alert Sri Lanka has produced the “A Good Job”
training DVD and instruction guide in collaboration with the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Youth Employment
Network (YEN), with the technical producer Young Asia Television. The
DVD package derives from the TV debate series conducted in all three
languages and telecast earlier this year on Rupavahini, ETV and TNL
channels, an International Alert media release said.
With
active studio audiences and discussion panels comprising young
development activists and youth leaders, business people and
industrialists who look to youth as the labour pool, and government
planners and experts, the TV series opened up a lively debate on this
hot topic. The whole range of issues and aspects of the problem were
examined and debated, with key issues identified and even some lesser
known related problems highlighted publicly during these debates.
The
issues and the possible answers that have been highlighted are now
captured in a well edited DVD product that acts as a discussion
stimulant and guide for use in corporate strategizing, policy planning,
public discussions as well as in development training programmes. The
DVD package is designed as an audio-visual tool for awareness –building
on youth employment issues and for training programmes and courses for
development activists, corporate CSR strategizing, ‘change agents’, and
for policy discussions and debates. A high quality training software
for all trainers produced by YA-TV, the country’s most experienced
Development television producer, the DVD comes with a detailed
instruction guide for users.
The DVD Pack is being
launched in Colombo on Friday 15th August, at the Hotel Taj Samudra at
4.15 pm at a ceremony attended by private sector leaders, government
economic affairs and youth affairs officials and development experts.
The keynote address is by Ms. Tine Staermose, Country Director,
International Labour Organisation.
For further information, below are provided excerpted quotes from the DVD:
“We
have about 10,000 schools in the country but not even 10% of these
schools can provide the kind of aptitude, skills, orientation and
communication skills that we talk about. .. the quality of the
education matters too”
Prof. S.T. Hettige, Snr. Prof. of Sociology – University of Colombo.
“..The
rural youth feel that to get in to the private sector they need to come
from a particular background which is very much linked to things like
English language and Western culture. Further, the jobs that are
available in the private sector do not help youth achieve the kind of
importance that a public sector job entails”.
Harini Amarasuriya – Lead Researcher – SPARC – University of Colombo
“Our
vocational Training sector has to be regulated as we cannot allow
mushroom institutes to crop up and provide all kinds training which
distorts the whole system and expertise.”
Mr. Dakshitha Thalagodapitiya – CEO/Secretary General – Chamber of Construction Industry
ILO and SLIDA in joint efforts to improve the capacity of public officers responsible for Private Sector Development
Private
Sector Development is now highly prioritised by the Government as a
major contributor to the country’s development. Therefore, the
Enterprise for Pro-Poor Growth (Enter-Growth) project of the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Sri Lanka Institute of
Development Administration (SLIDA) have jointly developed two
certificate courses aimed at improving the capacity of public officers
responsible for Private Sector Development and implementing business
regulations. These courses have the potential to affect a significant
number of public officers with responsibilities related to economic
development and to improve the business environment.
This
is part of a long-term collaboration between ILO and SLIDA. From
January – April this year, the Enter-Growth project and SLIDA have
trained 2,000 public officers in business registration of small
enterprises in 70 Divisions in North Central and North Western
Provinces.
The Enter-Growth project in collaboration with ILO
International Training Centre in Turin and the ILO Office in Geneva are
organising a capacity enhancement programme for selected faculty staff
from SLIDA, Sri Lanka Institute for Local Governance (SLILG), Hector
Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) and Public
Service Training Institute (PSTI) on delivering the two courses on
Private Sector Development.
The inauguration of the capacity enhancement programme will be held at Hotel Goldisands, Negombo on 28July at 9.00 am
with the participation of Honourable Karu Jayasuriya, Minister of
Public Administration and Home Affairs and Ms. Tine Staermose, ILO
Country Director as well as Heads of all relevant Government Institutes.
ILO Assists Tsunami Victims Restore their livelihoods
The
CB-TREE Project of the International Labour Organization has assisted
the restoration and creation of eighty eight enterprises of various
trades for the people affected by the tsunami in the coastal villages
of Ampara District.
The project, which is funded by
the government of Belgium is being implemented in coordination with the
Sri Lankan Government and fifteen local NGOs, using a participatory
methodology on community planning, skills and enterprise development
training, group organizing and post-training support including
micro-finance using a new concept on community fund scheme or Co-Fund.
As
of this year eight hundred and seven project beneficiaries are directly
employed, of whom 74.5% are women and 3,000 of their family members
have become indirect beneficiaries. The project also has special
training projects directly involving seventeen persons with
disabilities (PWD) and five beneficiaries with a PWD among their
families.
A report of a recent independent tracer
study conducted for 55 enterprises stated that the monthly income of
the beneficiaries have been raised by 62.2% after training, from an
average of Rs.3,248 to Rs.5,267 after the project intervention.
Furthermore an aggregate income in terms of wages of the beneficiaries
estimated to be in the range of Rs.2,000,000 per month has been
reported in the same study contributing to the new economic dynamism in
the tsunami-affected areas from Kalmunai to Panama in the Ampara
District.
Aside from these benefits of training, the
project has also organized seven communities and trained them on
creating a community enterprise system through a community-owned and
managed micro-financing scheme known as the Co-Fund. The seven
community groups have a total membership of 601 heads of families of
tsunami victims. The scheme has helped create and restore 228
livelihood projects of various trades among the members on short-term
loans averaging Rs.17,350 each. This component of the project is now
indirectly benefiting more than 2,800 beneficiaries affected by the
tsunami.
The project has covered fifty four villages
in eleven DS Divisions in the Ampara District from January 2006. It is
assisted by fifteen local NGOs that have been trained on the CB-TREE
Methodology. Training projects and beneficiaries are assessed by
technical working groups organized around the livelihood committees of
each DS Division.
The Project is assisted by a
national Project Advisory Committee, chaired by the Ministry of Labour
Relations and Manpower composed of Ministries mandated for employment
generation, rural development, poverty alleviation and private sector
groups.
The ILO will convene a National Workshop on
26 June 2008 to present its performance to the Government and to launch
the CB-TREE Manual of tools and instruments for adaptation by
government and private partners.
