Sri Lanka
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Ian Paisley Jnr (North Antrim, DUP)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the internally displaced persons (IDPs) covered under the UNHCR’s contract with Sri Lanka; and whether the guidelines include the 100,000 Muslims and Sinhalese IDPs ethnically cleansed in 1990 by the Tamil Tigers from Jaffna in Sri Lanka.
Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation, North America, Middle East and North Africa), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; North East Bedfordshire, Conservative)
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) defines internally displaced persons (IDPs) as people who have been forced to flee from their home. In Sri Lanka, the UNHCR works to protect and assist people displaced by the conflict within the country. We understand that anyone is free to approach the UNHCR for assistance and that it prioritises its support on the basis of need, with those in IDP camps accorded the highest priority.