SRI LANKA: NEED FOR RAPID PROGRESS IN RESOLVING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000573

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA (BOUCHER),SCA/INS AND PRM
STATE ALSO PASS USAID
AID/W FOR ANE/SCA, DCHA/FFP (DWORKEN, KSHEIN)
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA (MORRISP, ACONVERY, RTHAYER, RKERR)
ATHENS FOR PCARTER
BANGKOK FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA (WBERGER)
KATHMANDU FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA AND POL (SBERRY)
GENEVA FOR RMA (NKYLOH, NHILGERT, MPITOTTI)
USUN NEW YORK FOR ECOSOC (D MERCADO)
SECDEF FOR OSD - POLICY
PACOM ALSO FOR J-5

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF MOPS PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC CE ECON
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: NEED FOR RAPID PROGRESS IN RESOLVING
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

REF: A) COLOMBO 474 B) 2008 COLOMBO 1071


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: USAID/OFDA and PRM officers' monitoring of
Vavuniya area sites for internally-displaced persons (IDPs) on May
18-22 revealed the post-May 15 outflow of civilians from the
conflict severely stretched the Government's capacity to respond.
While US-funded UN agencies and INGOs are aiding the Government in
providing life-saving assistance, the Government's heightened
security concerns have resulted in restrictive conditions on
humanitarian assistance. The primary expected outcome of UN
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's May 22-23 visit, unfettered UN
access to the camps, was not realized, however agencies are working
out compromises on access. If screening for LTTE is not carried out
expeditiously, the continued confinement of men, women, and children
in these restrictive sites will raise serious concerns. Post
recommends close attention to a timeline to ensure U.S. humanitarian
funding does not enable a long-term, confined camp environment which
violates international humanitarian principles as well as the Sri
Lankan constitution. ACTION REQUEST: Please see paragraphs 12-14.
END SUMMARY.

OFDA AND PRM MONITORING;
GOVERNMENT NEEDS OUTSIDE AID,
BUT CREATING RESTRICTIONS
--------------


2. (U) USAID OFDA Regional Advisor and PRM Regional Deputy RefCoord
visited Vavuniya on May 18-22 to survey response to the final
outflow of roughly 80,000-90,000 IDPs from the conflict zone.
Officers monitored US-funded assistance, particularly to IOM and
UNHCR, and discussed a potential donor coordination strategy with
officers from the UK Department for International Development (DFID)
and the European Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO).


3. (U) The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
reports that 286,721 persons fled the final phase of conflict from
October 27, 2008 through May 22, 2009. Many now reside in the
massive new camp at Manik Farm, soon to gain the dubious title of
largest camp for displaced persons in the world. SPHERE standards
are not yet being met given severe overcrowding and nascent health
and sanitation systems. There are no data available on crude
mortality or morbidity rates; anecdotal evidence indicates high
malnutrition rates among new arrivals.


4. (U) The Government maintains a heavy military presence at the
Manik Farm sites, including armed soldiers in and around the zones,
concertina wire ringing the sites, and multiple checkpoints on all
roads. The camps are located on former forest land remote from any
major towns. Government registration of camp residents continues
but only summary data is shared with UN agencies, precluding efforts
to reunite families split between different locations.
International visitors are not permitted to speak at length with
camp residents, and are prohibited from taking any photographs.


5. (U) Officers observed the Government's efforts to catch up to

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the influx through military razing of forest land. Roughly 20-30
acres of new land was cleared per day in Zone 4 and officers
witnessed IOM and UNHCR efforts to erect approximately 600
two-family shelters per day as arrivals were coming in. Government
buses continued bringing new arrivals to the sites as soon as
shelters were erected; officers heard from an aid worker that 300
unaccompanied minors were staying in three tents. OCHA reports that
even once Zone 4 is entirely cleared (estimated within two weeks)
and the maximum number of shelters are put in place, there will
still be overcrowding. UNHCR plans to push for more land in other
districts and an expansion of Zone 4, as well as the release of
individuals to live with host families in order to ease
overcrowding.


6. (U) The health response is much improved from the late April
2009 visit by USAID Mission Director and OFDA Regional Advisor (Ref
A); each Manik Farm zone now has a medical clinic staffed by Sri
Lankan doctors and nurses, and ample bed space is available at both
established and field hospitals in the region. However, patients
must get to the clinics, as there is no health surveillance system
in place conducting shelter-to-shelter visits; in some zones
shelters may be over a mile from the nearest clinic and staffing is
still inadequate. WHO and the Ministry of Health have yet to begin
immunizations for children; measles is among the largest killers of
children in camps worldwide, and vaccination rate is unknown here.
Officers witnessed obvious war wounds among new arrivals at health
clinics and hospitals, in particular persons with feet or hands
entirely bandaged, including children and the elderly. Officers
heard from health workers that post-May 15 arrivals from the
conflict zone presented with fresh war wounds.


7. (U) OCHA and UNHCR have recently sent two senior level (P5)
officials to Vavuniya to coordinate the UN response effort. OCHA's
Mark Cutts and UNHCR's Johann Siffointe have already made important
steps in consolidating UN positions and raising the profile of
field-level concerns. OFDA Regional Advisor recommended the UN
consult more closely with INGOs to ensure all aid agencies are
involved in a unified platform, and avoid fractious tensions between
agencies.


8. (U) Officers visited Zone 2 on foot during the vehicle
restriction on May 21. Many new latrines have been constructed to
improve poor sanitation conditions; however, stagnant pools of water
and uncollected garbage remain. (Note: trench latrines, which have
been the standard, are purportedly not used due to rumors that they
are dangerous.) Non-food relief items were plentiful, and soda was
available in a camp market; however residents' queues for water (via
spaces reserved by jerry cans) numbered well over one hundred, as
water tankers had not yet replenished the day's supply.


9. (SBU) The International Committee of the Red Cross has decided
that it will not remain involved with assistance in Manik Farm sites
so long as the Government's encampment is not time-bound and as long
as restrictions on protection activities continue. (Note: A water
plant set up by the ICRC will continue to provide enough water for

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up to 30,000 Manik Farm residents per day.) ICRC plans to continue
monitoring of detainees and support of general health facilities but
will not assist displaced persons camps.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS
MAY BE EASED
--------------


10. (SBU) During the officers' monitoring visit, aid agencies
eagerly awaited the May 22-23 visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki
Moon, believing the Government would agree to Ban's request for
unfettered humanitarian access. (Note: the restrictions since May
16 restricting entry to only those vehicles with military escort
stemmed in part from reports that INGO local staff attempted to
smuggle IDPs out of the camps. End note.) However, the Government
rebuffed the request. An influential local NGO reports that the
Government had been prepared to ease the access restrictions during
the UN SYG visit, but changed its mind after 14 NGOs released a
letter criticizing the restrictions.


11. (SBU) While the issue of UN and INGO access to Manik Farm was
not resolved during the UN Secretary General's visit, agencies have
been working out a compromise in the field. Aid agencies are now
able to access the camps provided insignia on vehicles are removed
and provided the vehicles are transporting relief materials in the
camps. (Protection and monitoring activities alone are still
effectively barred, though protection staff can enter with aid
deliveries.) If Government-imposed access restrictions hamper
life-saving assistance in the future, Post will further engage the
Government on this issue as needed.

US RESPONSE PLANNING
--------------


12. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: The immediate issue of Government
restrictions on UN and INGO access threaten to overshadow
longer-term concerns on the militarized nature of the camps and on
lack of freedom of movement for its residents, who are citizens
entitled to rights under the Sri Lankan Constitution and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),which
Sri Lanka has ratified. Senior Government officials have pledged on
multiple occasions to return 80% of the camp residents to the North
by the end of CY 2009; however, other signals indicate the camps
will remain for 2-3 years. UNHCR, the UN lead for camp management,
has communicated its concerns and expectations regarding the sites
in official correspondence with the Government and in private
conversations with senior leaders on many occasions. It is likely,
however, the goalposts will shift without close attention by donor
governments. The Government's screening of 800 residents confined
in two camps in Mannar district, Kalimoddai and Sirukandal (Ref B),
has been ongoing for fourteen months, providing basis for concern
that the rapid screening of 300,000 new arrivals is beyond the
Government's capacity absent significant effort and the commitment
of new resources to expedite the screening process.


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13. (SBU) Post recommends that Department conduct a review of the
humanitarian situation as of August 31, 2009. Post anticipates
Government achievement of the following goals within three months:
1) registration of camp residents completed, families scattered
among sites reunited; 2) combatants identified and separated from
camp population; 3) some individuals released to live with host
families; 4) significant demining efforts underway in the North;
and 5) start of returns to the North to certified mine-free areas.
If the above steps are not achieved, the Department should signal to
the Government that future USG assistance within the camps hinges
upon demonstrated progress. The U.S. Government would communicate
its intention to discontinue direct support within the camps by the
end of the year. (Note: US support for demining, IDP returns, and
rehabilitation efforts in the North would continue regardless of the
decision on funding within the camps).


14. (SBU) Post recommends that Department liaise with UN agencies
to ensure that CY 2010 Sri Lanka planning assumes a significant
percentage of displaced Sri Lankans are returnees. UN planning
should be on the basis of the Government's pledge to return a
significant number of the IDPs by end of CY 2009, which will require
ample resources into 2010. Senior Government officials have
repeatedly stated that 80% of camp residents will be returned to the
North by the end of CY 2009. Most recently, the Government
committed to 100,000 returns by end of 2009 as part of the UN Common
Humanitarian Action Plan mid-year review. UN agency appeals should
permit the US and other donors to allocate resources appropriately,
for example, to support assistance packages for IDPs returning to
the North, while being assured the same contributions are not also
continuing a long-term camp system. If significant returns (or
release to host families where demining needs prevent returns) take
place by the end of CY 2009, the US and the UN may determine that
continued aid within the camps is still appropriate. Post suggests
the Department establish a goal (perhaps 25% of new IDPs returned or
released to host families by the end of calendar year 2009) as an
internal measure of progress which will guide funding decisions.
END ACTION REQUEST.

MOORE