UN official lauds improvements in IDP camps

A top United Nations official has said that there is a steady improvement in camp conditions for internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka as the government is taking steps for resettlement of refugees, a PTI report from New York said.

The acknowledgment came from the UN Assistant Secretary-General Jordan Ryan who visited Sri Lanka from July 12 to July 15, PTI said. Ryan held discussions about the recovery process with senior government, non-governmental organisations and civil society representatives in Colombo, Vavuniya and Jaffna.

Briefing reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, the UN spokesman, Marie Okabe said during his visit Ryan raised and discussed issues and concerns about security, access, freedom of movement, the rapid release and return of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and reunification of families.

The government is taking the lead on the resettlement and recovery processes, and note was taken of the continued improvement in camp conditions for IDPs and the gradual handover of camp management to civilian authorities, Okabe said.