The Government has received a donation of US$5 million from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to enable the government to purchase 10 flailing machines in order to further accelerate the de-mining programme in the North.

This outright grant was confirmed yesterday in Geneva at a meeting between Minister for Disaster Management & Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe and the High Commissioner for Refugees on the sidelines of the ongoing UNHCR Executive Committee meeting, which was also addressed by Minister Samarasinghe.

Responding to Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe’s statement, Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees stated that he was happy about the open and frank discussion that the government had with Prof Walter Kalin, Representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights of IDPs. He further stated that the UNHCR was strongly committed to support the de-mining programme in Sri Lanka.