Accordingly, the ICRC will close its office in the Mannar district from today and also close the offices in Vavuniya and Jaffna in the future although a date has not yet been set for closing them.
The new head of the ICRC in Sri Lanka Yves Giovannoni who assumed duties on November 15 had assured that the ICRC will continue to address humanitarian needs of the conflict-affected people even though the armed conflict has ended.
Giovannoni has explained that people displaced during the final stages of the conflict and are now gradually returning to their homes need help rebuilding their lives and ICRC will be helping such people in need.
The ICRC will continue to address the needs of people arrested during the conflict and who remain in custody visiting them visit regularly and help the people physically disabled during the conflict.
The new head of the organization says at all times even during a transition phase such as this one, the ICRC carries out its work in full transparency with the authorities.
He says the cooperation with the authorities help to bring aid directly to those who need it, and to assess whether the aid was appropriate and whether gaps remain to be filled.
Giovannoni has confirmed that the ICRC will scale down the operations although physically disabled people and detainees will need help for many years.
"I do not see the ICRC continuing with the major setup it had during the conflict years, when the need for humanitarian aid was considerable," Giovannoni has said.
"We have been discussing the eventual phase out of emergency relief with the government authorities, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and other agencies concerned. It is clearly understood that there will be a reduction of activities," he has added.
Although the ICRC has been gradually scaling down its activities since hostilities ended, it still endeavours to meet residual needs resulting from the conflict, he has said.
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