UN official says more work needs to be done in Sri Lanka's North, urges donors to be generous

A top United Nations official said Wednesday that while there had been significant progress in the country since the cessation of fighting in May 2009, more work need to be done to address the humanitarian needs of the people and asked the donors to give generously.


The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Catherine Bragg reporting on her recent humanitarian mission to Sri Lanka last week said main purpose of her mission was mainly about advocacy and to get a first-hand look on the progress of the communities, particularly in the conflict-affected North, and to assess their humanitarian needs.

"It is clear that there are still immediate humanitarian needs that we must address now," Ms. Bragg said.

During Ms. Bragg's visit from 19 to 21 January which also coincided with the flood devastation in the East and the North Central provinces she had launched a flash appeal to raise US$ 51 million in emergency funds to cover the immediate needs of more than one million people affected by the floods.

She had also announced the release of US$ 6 million from the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to jump start the priority programs.

In the flood-affected areas in the eastern part of the country, she said she had the sense of how overwhelmed the affected communities were and how their ability to withstand further shocks had been severely affected.

She said she urged the donors to give generously and to keep in mind both the medium- and longer-term assistance that was needed to restore lives and livelihoods, chiefly in the agricultural sector.

She had also met with Government ministers, the United Nations country team, representatives of non-governmental organizations, donors and the people to assess the humanitarian needs of the recently resettled people.

Ms. Bragg noted that the Government had committed significant resources to infrastructure in the return areas, but most of the returnees currently had limited access to basic services such as shelter, water and sanitation and health care.

"Those communities remained extremely vulnerable. The future of the north is about investing in people. They need skills, livelihoods and social development to help them move on with their lives," Ms. Bragg said.

The UN official said in her meetings with various Government officials, including the ministers of economic development, defence, and disaster management, she had reaffirmed the support of the UN and the NGOs for Sri Lanka to rebuild the North.

Ms. Bragg said she had discussed how that support could be more effective with more relaxed operating conditions for non-governmental organizations. In particular, she had discussed facilitating access for humanitarian organizations, to which she has received a fairly positive feed back.

In response a question, Ms. Bragg said she had not discussed any matters pertaining to the United Nations panel of experts on accountability issues relating to alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka, as that issue had not come up during her visit.