Madam Speaker, in Sri Lanka, over 250,000 internally displaced persons are still being kept in government-run camps.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to use every diplomatic means at its disposal to restore the freedom of movement for the UN and international aid organizations throughout the whole of Sri Lanka and begin the process of working toward a lasting peace and reconciliation between the government and the Tamil Tigers that will see full respect of the human rights of all Sri Lankans.
The Sri Lankan government must move faster to allow freedom of movement for the internally displaced persons in camps and prevent them from becoming internment facilities. The United Nations is now more concerned over the issue of freedom of movement than living conditions in the camps, which seem to be improving every day. It is time for Parliament to insist that the Sri Lankan authorities lift restrictions on humanitarian organizations and allow them to access the internally displaced persons who need them desperately.