UK commits to clear mines and rebuild lives in Sri Lanka

21 October 2009

The UK will clear landmines from Northern Sri Lanka and help thousands of civilians displaced by recent fighting to return home and rebuild their lives it was announced today.

International Development Minister Mike Foster allocated three new grants to help clear the way for civilians to return home from the camps for displaced people, provide them with a safe route home and the means to restart their lives.

DFID will fund the following projects:

• £500,000 to The HALO Trust for mine surveillance and heavy demining in the Mullaittivu area. This money will help provide demining machines for eight specialist teams that will survey and clear minefields before civilians return home. Mines were widely used during the conflict and are scattered across many areas in the North and East of the country.
• £250,000 to the International Organisation for Migration to provide transport for the thousands of civilians still living in the camps. This money will help 41,000 more civilians have safe and reliable transport in buses and lorries from the camps back to their homes or to host families in the Mannar, Mullaittivu, and Kilinochchi areas.
• £220,000 to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. This will enable the UN to provide 3 bushels of rice seeds to 8,800 families returning to the West Vanni region. This is enough for one acre of rice paddy per family, aiming to help them become self sufficient in rice production and help restart agricultural activity.

Following his recent visit to the country earlier this month, Mike Foster confirmed that this money will help the Sri Lankan Government make good their promises to release the majority of civilians from the camps by the end of the year.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, he reasserted that DFID’s funding would not support people simply being transferred from existing 'closed' camps – which detain civilians for long periods of time - to new closed camps.

Mike Foster said:

“Landmines pose a deadly threat to any civilians who try and return home from the camps. But clearing landmines is only part of the solution – we will also transport people back home and give them the means to restart their lives.

“In the coming months we hope to see significant numbers of civilians returning to the areas where these projects are working.”