Opportunity to move forward on humanitarian assistance
- UN Emergency Relief Coordinator tells President

[Thursday, August 09, 2007 - 19.00 GMT] 

"Discussions on how to solve many humanitarian concerns were held in the positive spirit and there is now an opportunity to move forward constructively on many issued related to humanitarian assistance”, said Mr. John Holmes, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) and Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, after his meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning, states a statement issued by the UN Office for Coordinating Humanitarian Agencies (OCHA).
  
The OCHA statement said President Rajapaksa and Mr. Holmes had a half and hour of frank and positive discussions focused on humanitarian operations in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, where the ERC briefed the President on his visit to Batticaloa and Vaharai, where UN agencies and NGOs assist some 103,000 people who have returned to their homes in areas taken by the Government after recent fighting with the LTTE.
  
“It is vital to develop a strong partnership between the Government and humanitarian actors to better assist those most affected by the conflict”, said Mr. Holmes, commenting on his three day visit to Sri Lanka.
  
Here is the text of the statement issued by OCHA office in New York, today (August 09).
  
UN EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR MEETS THE PRESIDENT OF SRI LANKA
  
(New York, 9 August 2007): On the last day of his visit to Sri Lanka, John Holmes, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), shared his impressions on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka with the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa. "Discussions on how to solve many humanitarian concerns were held in the positive spirit" said Mr. Holmes after the meeting” There is now an opportunity to move forward constructively on many issued related to humanitarian assistance.
  
Half an hour of frank and positive discussions focused on humanitarian operations in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The ERC briefed the President on his visit to Batticaloa and Vaharai in eastern Sri Lanka. Where UN agencies and non governmental organizations (NGOs) assist some 103,000 people who have returned to their homes in areas taken by the Government after recent fighting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), The ERC agreed with the President that rehabilitation of livelihoods and agriculture, coupled with re-establishment of civil administration and police force, were priorities in helping the returnees to rebuild their lives. Mr. Holmes stressed the importance of continued the unimpeded access of humanitarian agencies to areas of eastern and northern Sri Lanka, and improved protection of civilians affected by the conflict. He also welcomed an assurance by the President about the planned disarmament of paramilitary groups operating in eastern Sri Lanka, as it could significantly improve protection of returning internally displaced persons and other conflict affected communities.
  
"It is vital to develop a strong partnership between the Government and humanitarian actors to better assist those most affected by the conflict" said, Mr. Holmes, commenting on his three day visit to the country "If humanitarian workers are better able to do their job, international support for recovery and normalization in eastern Sri Lanka will become much more likely, he added.  UN and NGO humanitarian projects in the Common Humanitarian Action Plan for Sri Lanka amount to $120 million in 2007.
  
The President and the ERC agreed on the need for a quick resolution of the ongoing investigations into the killings of humanitarian workers, particularly those of the 17 staff of the French NGO Action Contre la Fail (ACF), killed in eastern Sri Lanka a year ago.
 

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Last Updated Date: August 09, 2007 - 19.00 GMT