The conflict between Tamil separatists1 and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) in the north and east of the country has been ongoing since 1983 and has claimed over 75,000 human lives. Over 800,000 people have been internally displaced and a further 100,000 Tamils have fled to refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, India. The abrogation of the 2002 ceasefire agreement (CFA) by the government in January 2008 marks a further deterioration in this increasingly vicious conflict. The country has reverted to civil war and with both sides intent on a military solution there are no prospects of a peaceful solution in the foreseeable future. The effect on the civilian population in the north and east is devastating particularly because of the appalling brutality of the conflict. Major violations of international humanitarian law and human rights by all parties to the conflict2 are a daily occurrence.
The humanitarian situation is likely to deteriorate in 2008. There are already around 570,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and United Nations (UN) estimate that between 200,000 to 400,000 people could be forced to flee their homes due to current hostilities in the north in the coming months.
The focus of this global plan will be to provide emergency relief assistance to IDPs, host communities and vulnerable population caught up in the conflict. The main needs identified are protection, food aid and food security, shelter and non food relief items (NFRI), health, water and sanitation, mine action, coordination, security and logistics.
Depending on the intensity of the conflict, there is also a need for basic rehabilitation assistance in support of return and resettlement processes. In Tamil Nadu, the main needs are for the provision of water and sanitation, shelter and NFRI in the refugee camps. Sri Lanka is a complex emergency and the humanitarian situation is highly politicised. While the humanitarian workload in the north and east of Sri Lanka is increasing the humanitarian space continues to diminish.
