A senior political official of the United Nations arrived in Sri Lanka to amidst international concern over human rights violations committed by Sri Lanka during its war against the Tamil Tigers and the continued detention of tens of thousands of Tamils in barbed wired camps.
"We are very concerned about the pace of progress," Pascoe said Monday, September 16 at the United Nations as he prepared to travel to Sri Lanka at the request of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. News Service said.
"The secretary-general was there (in Sri Lanka) and a series of commitments was made … including on the movement of people out of camps and including an eventual political process and some kind of accountability mechanism."
Pascoe said he will raise the issue of resettling displaced Tamils in Sri Lankan camps on his visit to the island nation.
About 300,000 Tamils, displaced from their homes during the Sri Lankan military's campaign against the Tamil Tigers, have been housed in camps with poor facilities since May when the military declared victory over the Tamil Tigers.
“We are very concerned about the pace of progress,” Pascoe said. “We’re particularly concerned about the [refugees].”
The United Nations, its agencies and other international groups have been critical of the Sri Lankan government's slow progress in resettling the displaced people who are reportedly facing a humanitarian crisis in the camps. Only a few thousand of them have returned to their homes.
Sri Lanka says its plan to return refugees to their homes by December depends on the clearing of mines from former conflict zones and establishing security in the north. Rains last month flooded tents and caused temporary sewage systems to overflow in the camps, prompting calls from the U.S. and the UN for the swift release of the estimated 300,000 displaced people before the monsoon season begins in the next couple of months.
The UN can ask Sri Lanka to speed up the process, “but we have to complete de-mining first in these areas,” U.L.M. Haldeen, secretary in the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services said, responding to UN calls.
Pascoe said he also planned to discuss the continued detention of two U.N. staff members and the Sri Lanka's decision to expel U.N. children's agency spokesman James Elder. Pascoe plans to spend several days in Sri Lanka, visiting refugee camps and meeting Rajapakse.
"We are very concerned about the pace of progress," Pascoe said Monday, September 16 at the United Nations as he prepared to travel to Sri Lanka at the request of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. News Service said.
"The secretary-general was there (in Sri Lanka) and a series of commitments was made … including on the movement of people out of camps and including an eventual political process and some kind of accountability mechanism."
Pascoe said he will raise the issue of resettling displaced Tamils in Sri Lankan camps on his visit to the island nation.
About 300,000 Tamils, displaced from their homes during the Sri Lankan military's campaign against the Tamil Tigers, have been housed in camps with poor facilities since May when the military declared victory over the Tamil Tigers.
“We are very concerned about the pace of progress,” Pascoe said. “We’re particularly concerned about the [refugees].”
The United Nations, its agencies and other international groups have been critical of the Sri Lankan government's slow progress in resettling the displaced people who are reportedly facing a humanitarian crisis in the camps. Only a few thousand of them have returned to their homes.
Sri Lanka says its plan to return refugees to their homes by December depends on the clearing of mines from former conflict zones and establishing security in the north. Rains last month flooded tents and caused temporary sewage systems to overflow in the camps, prompting calls from the U.S. and the UN for the swift release of the estimated 300,000 displaced people before the monsoon season begins in the next couple of months.
The UN can ask Sri Lanka to speed up the process, “but we have to complete de-mining first in these areas,” U.L.M. Haldeen, secretary in the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services said, responding to UN calls.
Pascoe said he also planned to discuss the continued detention of two U.N. staff members and the Sri Lanka's decision to expel U.N. children's agency spokesman James Elder. Pascoe plans to spend several days in Sri Lanka, visiting refugee camps and meeting Rajapakse.
