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UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe says he is “encouraged’ by the progress made in the north of Sri Lanka

(September 19, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)The United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe who arrived in Sri Lanka on 16th September 2009, called on Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 17th September 2009.

Welcoming Mr. Pascoe and his delegation, Minister Bogollagama explained the work that has been done by the Government of Sri Lanka in various spheres connected to the IDPs and their expeditious re-settlement and thanked the UN for joining Sri Lanka in this process. In terms of the joint statement issued by Sri Lanka and the UN in late May 2009 on the issue of accountability, Minister Bogollagama affirmed that due process could always be put in place accordingly within the domestic framework. The Minister outlining the progress made so far and in particular referred to the recently concluded elections to the North, the on-going family reunifications programmes, resettlement, enabling children in the IDP welfare villages and ex-combatants to appear for the G.C.E. Advanced Level examinations, the submission of the APRC proposals and the participation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in the on-going political progress.

Responding, Mr. Pascoe thanked the Minister for inviting him to visit Sri Lanka once again and stated that the UN and the Secretary General have continued to be supportive of the efforts of the Sri Lankan Government. He stated that he was “encouraged” by what he had witnessed during his visit to the north on that day. Mr. Pascoe and his delegation visited Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna along with rehabilitation centres for ex-combatants and some of the welfare villages including Manik Farm. Mr. Pascoe also stated that there was “no torch carrying” for the LTTE in the UN system and stated that the UN was keen to continue its engagement with Sri Lanka.

Commenting on his visit to the north, Mr. Pascoe stated that he was “impressed by the work done by the Army, the demining teams, the UN staff and the civil society” and that the team also witnessed the rehabilitation work that was underway. He also stated that in Jaffna, they were able to feel that the people were looking forward to getting more opportunities and that there was a feeling that a “whole era was waiting for them”.

During the discussions, issues pertaining to the health care services provided to the IDPs, educational facilities including the vocational training were also highlighted.

Secretary, Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms, S. K. Gamlath joining the discussions explained the progress made in the rehabilitation of ex-combatants. He stated that after rehabilitation, some have reintegrated into society, while others have gone overseas for employment arranged under a special rehabilitation programme. He also acknowledged the assistance rendered by the UNICEF in this endeavor.

Director General, Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition, Dr. Ajith Mendis, referred to the improvements and the enhancements that have been made to the existing health facilities provided to the IDPs. He pointed out that the hospitals and the clinics in the welfare centers have been strengthened with additional staff and the drug store has also been supplied with adequate medicines and other medical supplies. He further stated that most of the specialists returning from overseas were also being assigned to the Chettikulam hospital in order to provide enhanced medical care to the people. He also added that the Health Ministry’s Family Healthcare Unit was attending to the nutritional needs of children and the mothers, whom, he further added, have improved considerably.

Senior Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms, Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition and Officials from the UN were associated with this meeting.

Following the discussions, Foreign Minister Bogollagama and Under-Secretary General Pascoe addressed the media.

-Sri Lanka Guardian