UN mulls financial assistance to Lanka for reconciliation

The UN has said it is exploring a broad package of technical and financial assistance to Sri Lanka to advance the government's efforts to achieve reconciliation with the Tamil minority community.
"At the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, the UN is exploring the provision of a broad package of technical and financial assistance in consultation with all key stakeholders," Stphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday.
"The framework of UN support for peacebuilding in Sri Lanka was presented in Sri Lanka last June by the Resident Coordinator.
"What is being discussed for support by the Peacebuilding Fund are initiatives to advance the process of reconciliation in Sri Lanka through the resettlement of internally displaced persons, national reconciliation, and the development of credible transitional justice mechanisms in line with international standards," he said.

The UN's support is always built on the basis of inclusive, transparent and participatory consultations with all key stakeholders, he said.
Dujarric said USD 1 million has already been disbursed to support resettlement and integration initiatives for the internally displaced persons in the north and east on seized land that has been returned by the government.

"For the rest, the UN continues to consult with the Government of Sri Lanka, and all key stakeholders, to finalise the details of UN support," he said.
The UN believes that there should be genuine and inclusive consultations on a national basis, including the Northern Province, to help arrive at the right model in the Sri Lankan context, Dujarric said.

He said the UN supports the government and the people of Sri Lanka in their efforts to advance reconciliation and accountability.
He said the principle of inclusive, participatory and consultative processes will apply to UN support for the establishment of credible accountability and reconciliation mechanisms that meet international standards.
The over three-decade long separatist campaign of the LTTE ended in May 2009 when Sri Lankan military crushed the militants, who were fighting for an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had faced criticism from the West for refusing to cooperate with a probe into alleged war crimes committed during a crackdown on the LTTE.

Sri Lanka under Rajapaksa was subjected to three consecutive US-backed UN Human Rights Council resolutions, the last of which mandated an global investigations into alleged rights abuses by both government troops and the LTTE.