Over 200,000 Sri Lankans have been displaced in the past six months and some 600,000 others remain cut off in the north of the island as the unresolved conflict and dangerously fragile ceasefire accord between the Government and Tamil separatists continue to affect gravely the lives of children and women, according to a United Nations update.
"With violence between the government and the LTTE [Liberation of Tigers of Tamil Eelam] at its highest level since 2002, the security situation is deteriorating especially in the North and East," the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in its March report on the 20-year-old conflict which has already killed more than 65,000 people.
"Political functionaries have been killed and multiple attacks on military and police outposts have taken place. Religious/ethnic strife is common, and public life is often closed down as a means of popular protest," it added, noting that the recruitment of children by the LTTE and the breakaway Karuna Faction continues to be a major violation of children's rights in the Indian Ocean island.
In the case of increasing violence and warfare, additional resources will be needed to respond to the uprooting of up to 400,000 people with displacement likely to range up to several years, UNICEF warned.
Security in the north and east has deteriorated for humanitarian workers due to harassment, abduction and forced recruitment by the LTTE and Karuna Faction, while intensified security measures by the Armed Forces has led to reduced access for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN humanitarian staff and supplies to LTTE-operating areas, as well as to allegations of human rights violations.
Currently the immediate issues for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are services for water supplies, sanitation, drainage and solid waste management. "Ensuring that needs of public and personal hygiene are in place is critical," the report said, adding that some IDPs had already been uprooted several times.
UNICEF continues to monitor underage recruitment. During the last quarter of 2006, the number of children reportedly recruited by the LTTE further decreased from 187 to 145. Recruitment by the Karuna faction also dropped from 72 to 68 during the same period. The agency continues to talks with armed groups on the release of children and the cessation of recruitment.
As of the end of January, UNICEF had recorded 6,241 children abducted, 6,006 by LTTE and 235 by Karuna, with 1,879 children still being held, 1,710 by LTTE and 169 by Karuna. Released children and other male youth continue to seek UNICEF's aid for special protection in fear of assassination, arrests and abduction.
Source: UN News