Sri Lanka briefs EC Humanitarian Aid Commissioner on steps aimed at reaping peace dividend

The delegation of Sri Lankan senior officials led by Attorney General Mohan Pieris presently in Brussels for the Sri Lanka-EU GSP+ Dialogue, on Friday called on Dr. Kristalina Georgiva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

 

 

The Attorney General was joined in the discussion by Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundara, External Affairs Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union Ravinatha Aryasinha, Director/Europe of the Ministry of External Affairs Manisha Gunasekera and Second Secretary (Political) of the Embassy Madhuka Wicremarachchi.

 

 

Attorney General Mohan Pieris told Commissioner Georgiva that with Sri Lankanow well on the way to sustainable recovery, the Government and the people were increasingly focusing on reaping the peace dividend, while endeavouring for restorative justice to further strengthen national amity.

 

 

The Attorney General added that in this regard several steps had been taken within a short space of less than one year since the termination of the conflict situation. Foremost among them is the reviewing of the regime of emergency regulations, through considerably amending and even repealing some of them, on the basis of the clear improvement in the security environment.

 

 

Another important measure is the establishment of the Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation, which comprises eight Sri Lanka personalities selected for their eminence, while being representative of the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural character of Sri Lanka. He said complementing these measures is the National Action Plan on Human Rights (NAPHR), which having been developed in consultation with civil society, is now under consideration for submission to the Cabinet.

 

 

In addition to the legal and other measures, the delegation also appraised the Commissioner of the significant and rapid amelioration of the issues faced by the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), for which the support extended by the EU was appreciated.

 

 

Finance Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera recalled that when he had earlier visited Brussels in September 2009 accompanying then Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa who serves as the Chairman of the Presidential Task for Resettlement, Development and

Security in the Northern Province, the number of IDPs stood at over 250,000.

 

 

Basil Rajapaksa has pledged sustained and rapid action and the results of this endeavour had today translated to over 200,000 having been resettled with less than 30,000 residing on a continuous basis in the transit facilities.  With the Government now being confident that by the end of the year all the residents in the transit facilities would have moved back to their original homes, the authorities were increasingly focusing in the North on ensuring a seamless transition from a humanitarian assistance phase to that of a development phase. Noting that the Government would be launching a three-year development plan with a budget of US Dollars 3 billion with active donor participation, and that for this purpose the President of the ADB would be visiting Sri Lanka next month, Dr. Jayasundera called on the EU to become partners in this process.

 

 

Commissioner Georgiva thanked the visiting Sri Lanka delegation for their comprehensive briefing. She mentioned that a team of European Commission officials who had recently visited Sri Lanka had also confirmed the significant improvements being made on the ground. The Commissioner went on to exchange ideas with the Sri Lankan officials concerning the continued strong cooperation with the EU in relation to the areas under her charge.

 

 

Commissioner Georgiva indicated that she would explore the possibility of visiting Sri Lanka in order to strengthen her understanding of the issues involved, which was of strong interest to her mandate. The Attorney General welcomed on behalf of the Government the prospect of such a visit.