SRI LANKA: PRINCIPLES FOR POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000288 DEPARTMENT FOR P, F, SCA, PRM, S/CRS, INL/AAE, DRL/NESCA STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID AID/W FOR ASIA/SCA, DG, DCHA CMM, EGAT, OTI DEPT PASS TO DOJ/ICITAP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: PRINCIPLES FOR POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE ¶1. (SBU) The Ambassador and USAID Mission Director hosted bilateral and multilateral donors and the UN Resident Representative on March 11 to discuss principles and plans for possible future reconstruction in Sri Lanka's North, where the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) appears to be on the verge of defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The objective of the meeting was to reach an early consensus among donors about the conditions under which donors would be willing to fund reconstruction and development programs. Given that the GSL will need international support to undertake the massive reconstruction that is required in the North, a common approach on principles for engagement can give donors some leverage to shape the political landscape in a post-conflict North that promotes sustainable peace. All who attended welcomed the idea and agreed broadly with the principles, which Post had prepared and circulated beforehand. The principles, as revised based on input from the meeting, follow below. Principles for Post-Humanitarian Donor Engagement in northern Sri Lanka: Based on input from all participants, including the Netherlands, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Japan, the EU, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the UN, the following six principles were, in general, agreed to: ¶A. POLITICAL TRANSITION: Transitional political arrangements in the North should be acceptable to residents of the North, including the Tamil majority and Muslim minority. We will not provide support if leaders are put in place that the local population finds neither credible nor representative. ¶B. FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN THE NORTH: The GSL should provide a timetable and plan for the election of a new Provincial Council and local government bodies. Free and fair elections should be held with acceptable arrangements made for IDPs to vote. The GSL should allow international observers to monitor the elections in the North and allow access for the observers during the campaign and to all polling stations. ¶C. CREDIBLE POWER-SHARING: The GSL should announce a credible proposal for power-sharing and begin a dialogue, which includes legitimate Tamil representatives, over future constitutional reforms. ¶D. PARTICIPATORY RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING PROCESS: The GSL should put in place and lead a transparent participatory process to prepare a development plan for the North in consultation with local beneficiaries, legitimate civil society representatives, donors, UN agencies, and local and international NGOs. ¶E. SECURITY FOR CIVILIANS: The GSL needs to control paramilitary organizations and ensure maximum security for civilians as well as aid workers as it makes the transition from military to civilian control and restores normalization. ¶F. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: Serious human rights violations during the post-conflict stabilization and development phase in the north could impact donor assistance. Appropriate monitoring mechanisms by local and international actors need to be in place. All agreed to preface these six conditions with one further caveat, namely that the means by which the GSL ends the war would also impact donor willingness to support development efforts. ¶2. (SBU) The UN Resident Representative commented that development will be much harder in the North it was than in the East after its liberation in 2006, especially due to the power vacuum that will exist there. He called for a more participatory approach to development planning in the North, rather than the top-down model used in the East. Security will be critical because some LTTE members have made it into the camps or will remain at large, thereby posing an ongoing threat. The UN ResRep noted that psycho-social care on a wide scale will be needed to help people cope with trauma from the conflict and with the transition from life under the authoritarian LTTE to a more normal civilian order. He underscored that the GSL often sees only physical infrastructure as development, but there are also many "soft" components that are needed to rebuild war-torn provinces. BLAKE