Meeting of the sub-committee on immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs in the North and East (SIHRN)

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Country/entity: Sri Lanka
Region: Asia and Pacific
Agreement name: Meeting of the sub-committee on immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs in the North and East (SIHRN)
Date: 28 Feb 2003
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/intrastate conflict
Sri Lankan Civil War (1983 - 2009)
The roots of the Sri Lanka conflict lay in British colonial policy which controlled the island from 1802 until 1948. During the early 1800s, the British brought Tamils from mainland India to work on the various plantations for tea, coffee and rubber, changing Sri Lanka's the demographic make-up. Upon independence, Sinhalese nationalism dominated the political sphere and introduced discriminatory policies against the Tamil minority straining relations and sparking protests. Armed Tamil resistance first came in the form of assassinations of moderate Tamils and opposition politicians in the mid-1970s. However, it was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) attack on checkpoint Four Four Bravo, which marked the turning point, sparking pogroms against Tamils in Sinhalese majority areas. This incident, known as Black July, is widely considered to the beginning of the civil war.

The first round of peace talks were backed by India, which had deployed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987, and led to the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. The Accord was successful in persuading the majority of insurgency groups to lay down arms. However, the strongest Tamil insurgency group, the LTTE, was not party to the talks and refused to disarm, sparking direct conflict between the IPKF and the LTTE until IPKF withdrawal 1990. Following the withdrawal, the LTTE consolidated their power in the North and East sparking another intense and bloody war with the central government that lasted until 2002 when another peace process was launched under the auspices of Norwegian negotiators. The second round of peace talks, however, only continued until April 2003 and in March 2004, a large faction of LTTE cadres split from the main organization damaging LTTE unity. The LTTE were defeated militarily by a large-scale government assault in 2009, however, the conditions for peace remain uncertain.
Stage: Pre-negotiation/process
Conflict nature: Government/territory
Peace process: Sri Lanka LTTE 2002 onward process
Parties: Government of Sri Lanka, headed by Mr. Bernard Goonetilleke; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, headed by Mr. Tamilselvan
Third parties: Royal Government of Norway, represented by Ambassador Jon Westberg; Ambassador Seiichro Otsuka of Japan participated on behalf of Mr. Yasushi Akashi, principal advisor to the Sub-Committee
Description: Short press statement issued by Norwegian Government announcing a list of approved development projects and the establishment of a resettlement project for Manar district, headed by members from both parties.

Agreement document: LK_030228_Meeting of the sub-committee on immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs in the North and East (SIHRN).pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Main category: Page 1, SIHRN, to accommodate the urgent needs of the people, gave its final approval to the following projects that will be implemented as soon as the finances has been made available by the donors through the World Bank:
... *Centre (located in Kilinochchi) for mentally traumatized women

Women, girls and gender

Participation: No specific mention.
Equality: No specific mention.
Particular groups of women: No specific mention.
International law: No specific mention.
New institutions: No specific mention.
Violence against women: Violence against women→Protection (general)
Page 1, SIHRN, to accommodate the urgent needs of the people, gave its final approval to the following projects that will be implemented as soon as the finances has been made available by the donors through the World Bank: ... *Centre (located in Kilinochchi) for mentally traumatized women
Transitional justice: No specific mention.
Institutional reform: No specific mention.
Development: Development→Health (general)
Page 1, SIHRN, to accommodate the urgent needs of the people, gave its final approval to the following projects that will be implemented as soon as the finances has been made available by the donors through the World Bank: ... *Centre (located in Kilinochchi) for mentally traumatized women
Implementation: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

THE ROYAL NORWEGIAN EMBASSY

MEETING OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON IMMEDIATE HUMANITARIAN AND REHABILITATION NEEDS iN THE NORTH AND EAST (SIHRN), ON 27-28 FEBRUARY 2003.

Press Release

28 February 2003

The fourth meeting of the SIHRN took place in Kilinochchi on February 27 and 28 2003 at the premises of the SIHRN Secretariat.

Mr. Bernard Goonetilleke headed the Government's delegation while Mr. Tamilselvan lead the L TTE delegation.

Ambassador Jon Westborg facilitated the meeting on behalf of the Norwegian Government.

Ambassador Seiichro Otsuka of Japan participated on behalf of Mr. Yasushi Akashi, principal advisor to the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee decided to initiate a programme for the resettlement of displaced persons in the Mannar District.

The programme will respond to the needs and interest of all communities in the Mannar District.

The Secretariat has been requested to initiate a Needs Assessment for the resettlement of internally displaced persons from the district.

Under the overall resettlement program, the Sub-Committee agreed:

1. to establish a resettlement program for the Mannar District in order to meet the needs of all displaced communities;

2. that the Mannar district will be assessed by fıve Assessment Teams comprising the following members

GOSL - 02 (at least one member to represent the Muslim community)

LTTE-02

UNHCR-01;

3. that these Needs Assessment Teams should as part of their work ensure that original residents,

displaced outside the district of Mannar are also consulted,

4. that the reports of the Needs Assessment Teams should be submitted by 31 st March 2003.

5. that an implementation proposal is to be developed based on the reports of the Assessment Teams.

The implementation proposal shall be developed by a team comprising 2 members each from the GOSL and the L TTE and the UNHCR;

and that the work of the Assessment Teams shall be coordinated by the UNHCR SIHRN, to accommodate the urgent needs of the people, gave its final approval to the following projects that will be implemented as soon as the fınances has been made available by the donors through the World Bank:

*The fırst phase of the road between Mullaitivu -Mankulam-Vellankulam

*Centre (located in Kilinochchi) for mentally traumatized women

*Renovation of paddy storage facility in Mannar district

*Construction of ice plants in Thirukovil and Saintthamaruthu in Ampara District

*Resettlement of 8 villages, one in each of the eight districts in the North East in addition 10 further projects were approved subject to certain clarifıcation from the Director of the Secretariat of SIHRN:

Emergency care unit in Kilinochchi, improvement of Mullaitivu Hospital, irrigation project in Kalmadu, irrigation projects in Miyankallukulam Kiran in Batticaloa, resettlement and rehabilitaion project in all districts, skill and capacity development in Mullaitivu, Amparai and Mannar districts, milk chilling and processing facility in Kilinochchi, construction of ice plant in Mullaitivu District, construction of ice plant in Jaffna District and rehabilitation of Pottuvil Hospital in Ampara District.