Colombo: The UN has asked Sri Lanka to step up efforts to rehabilitate the ethnic Tamils housed in welfare camps in the country`s north following the defeat of the LTTE.
The UN asked the government to expedite the process to facilitate family unification of the displaced Tamil civilians.
According to a UN report, as part of its Equal Access to Justice Project, the UNDP has taken the lead in providing basic legal documentation to internally displaced populations.
"For example, many refugees lack identification cards, which not only facilitate movement between camps but also contribute to family reunification," it said.
The report stressed that for several years now the UNDP has been dispatching mobile documentation clinics to communities that have been heavily affected by conflict and
displacement.
"Since the government offices tasked with issuing these documents are located in town centres, they are difficult and expensive to travel to for many people, especially when the process often requires half a dozen trips to as many different offices," the UN report said.
"Perhaps as importantly, UNDP is working with local government offices to help streamline this process so that once the mobile clinics close up and move on, people will
still have access to a process that works both for them and with them," the report said.
Bureau Report
