Sri Lanka: Thousands Caught in Conflict
16 March 2009: In a press release issued on 16 March, the Office of the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka said that the UN 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.
Strongly deploring the mounting death toll of civilians in the area of fighting, including a significant number of children, the Secretary-General said there was an urgent need to bring the conflict to a speedy end without further loss of civilian life. In his statement, Ban Ki-moon renewed his call to the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to suspend hostilities for the purpose of allowing civilians to leave the conflict zone and allowing immediate humanitarian access to them.
Briefing the Security Council on 27 February on his recent visit in northern Sri Lanka, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, explained that he highlighted key humanitarian issues to both parties:
Expressing his extreme concern about the fate of the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the Vanni pocket, he first called on both the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to respect international humanitarian law, to ensure the protection of the civilians there, and to do everything possible to avoid further civilian casualties.
Secondly, John Holmes called upon both parties to allow unhindered humanitarian access and to ensure that sufficient relief supplies are delivered into the Vanni pocket. Thirdly, he emphasized to the Government that the treatment of IDPs has to be in line with international standards and principals, including eliminating the military presence in IDP sites and ensuring increasing freedom of movement for the IDPs. Fourthly, he reiterated the importance of the displaced being able to return to their places of origin as soon as possible..