Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced Persons
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Written answers and statements, 4 November 2009
Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
(1) what recent representations he has made to the Sri Lankan government on the sexual abuse of children in camps for internally displaced persons in that country;
(2) what recent representations he has made to the Sri Lankan government on violence against women in camps for internally displaced persons in that country;
(3) what recent representations he has made to the Sri Lankan government on trends in the level of prostitution in camps for internally displaced persons in that country.
Michael Foster (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development; Worcester, Labour)
I have been asked to reply.
The UK has consistently advocated for the treatment of all internally displaced persons (IDPs) held in camps in Sri Lanka to be in accordance with international standards. We continue to press the Government of Sri Lanka to allow humanitarian agencies access to the camps to assess allegations of abuses such as violence against women, the sexual abuse of children and enforced prostitution.
The most effective way to ensure the safety of women and children displaced by the conflict is to restore freedom of movement to the IDP population. I visited Sri Lanka in early October and urged Government representatives to allow freedom of movement and abide by their own commitment to return 80 per cent. of the IDPs to their homes by the end of the year. On my return, I discussed these issues with the deputy high commissioner to Sri Lanka in London. I welcome the recent progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in returning the IDPs currently held in camps to their areas of origin.
Since September 2008, the Department for International Development (DFID) has allocated £12.5 million of humanitarian aid to assist those displaced by the conflict in Sri Lanka. This has included support to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to undertake child protection campaigns in the IDP camps. A full breakdown of funding can be found at: