Sri Lanka yesterday reassured the United Nations that it is steadfastly committed top protect the rights of the residents in the Wanni and ensure their welfare.

This assurance was given when Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the UN.

The Minister briefed the Secretary General on the progress being achieved by the Government in its effort to promote and protect human rights and also address the humanitarian concerns in the North, a spokesman for the Minister said. He reiterated that the Government remained sensitive to the principle of civilian protection, emphasizing that the Security Forces' experience in the Eastern Province last year with no civilian casualties provided the best practice, which inspired its ongoing campaign against terrorism in the North.

He stressed that the continuing food supplies to the Wanni with the assistance of the United Nations demonstrated the concern that Government had for the welfare of its citizens and that, based on the priorities identified by the UN needs assessment mission last week, supply of non-food items would follow. He said there was no withdrawal of UN personnel from Kilinochchi to Vavuniya and it was only a temporary relocation which was taken in consultation with partners, specially to ensure that they faced no risk as military action against LTTE intensified.

Elaborating on the work of the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Access, which met regularly under his chairmanship to address all operational issues in the humanitarian arena, the Minister conveyed that this mechanism served as a clearing channel for immediate concerns and helped find solutions to several issues then and there. Emphasizing that the measures taken by the Government and the UN in the humanitarian area were reassuring, the Secretary General confirmed that UN stood ready to assist the Government in its effort to continue to improve humanitarian situation and encouraged the Government to continue to remain committed to achieving a negotiated settlement.

The Minister stressed that he had specific instructions from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, following the President's meeting in New York with UN Secretary General, the support and goodwill to the Secretary General and the United Nations for the humanitarian work being carried out in Sri Lanka in addition to ongoing development work and also to build on the existing bilateral relations.

Courtesy : Daily News