Japan grants Rs. 300 m for North-East rehabilitation

The Government of Japan will grant assistance worth nearly Rs. 300 million (US $ 2.8 million) to Sri Lanka through the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) to assist residents in the North and the East affected by the conflict.

The Project named the 'Integrated Programme for Empowering Conflict-Affected Communities to Rebuild their Lives in North and East Sri Lanka' will be implemented by three UN agencies in Sri Lanka, namely the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Childrens' Fund and the International Labour Organisation in partnership with several Government Ministries.

The Project was ceremonially launched at the office of the UNDP Equal Access to Justice Project with the participation of Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka H.E. Kunio Takahashi, Secretary to the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration and Project Director of the Equal Access to Justice Project Ms. Malkanthi Wickramasinghe, and representatives from the respective UN agencies.

UNTFHS, is a joint venture by the Government of Japan and the United Nations Secretariat. It finances projects carried out by organizations in the UN system, to advance the operational impact of human security. The UNTFHS places priority on promoting multi-sectoral and inter-agency integration based on the comparative advantage of the diverse expertise of agencies within the UN system.

In Sri Lanka, the UNTFHS will be supporting the three year Integrated Programme for Empowering conflict affected Communities to rebuild their lives in North and East Sri Lanka (ECAC) jointly through ILO, UNDP, and UNICEF. This joint effort focuses on Vavuniya and Batticaloa and will ensure that synergies and complementarities between the three agencies are realized to increase the impact in target communities. UNDP is the administration agent for the ECAC and responsible for overall coordination. The United Nations Development Programme will implement the ECAC through its Equal Access to Justice (EA2J) Project, which was launched in 2004 aimed at ensuring greater and diverse access to justice redress mechanisms for all Sri Lankans. In particular, the EA2J will target vulnerable women and children and link these groups to support from UNICEF and ILO.

To prevent and respond to violence, exploitation and abuse, UNICEF will implement the ECAC through the Ministry of Child Development, the Department of Probation and Child Care Services, the magistrates and the police and support them in the discharge of their respective mandates. Moreover, UNICEF will be focusing on reaching vulnerable children and women affected by the conflict by supporting the provision of reintegration services, including access to education, skill training and health services, for instance, and by strengthening safety-net programmes through the Ministry of Social Services.

Under the ECAC the ILO will focus on providing business start-up and continuity support through the provision of seed capital, support for credit/savings groups and providing vulnerable children, (particularly girls) with access to all forms of skills training.