Human rights violations of tsunami victims

srilanka1998

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Human rights violations of tsunami victims


According to studies carried out by the University of California, Berkeley Human Rights Centre, which "conducts interdisciplinary research on emerging issues in international human rights and humanitarian law"
there had been many violations of human rights of tsunami victims of Sri Lanka.

The report also says, "armed conflict is ongoing, children are being recruited to serve as combatants' and adults are living in fear among warring groups" indicating that "significant human rights problems persist" in Sri Lanka.

Children's rights violated

Amnesty International, a worldwide organisation which aspires to improve and protect human rights, has put forward concerns of "orphaned children [being] recruited as soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)".

This subject has become a delicate issue and many agencies have outlined the importance of respecting and protecting the exposed children. UN report says the issue needs to be addressed "Ms. Bellamy (from the United Nations Children's fund) had also confronted leaders who failed to protect children, going to Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Sudan to advocate demobilizing child soldiers".

Not only are there cases relating to children, but also to the women of Sri Lanka, the United States Department of State acknowledged the need to "help raise post-tsunami awareness about the risk of trafficking among vulnerable groups".

Women are abused

However, women are apparently "excluded from participation in disaster relief and their voices silenced" says the Pesticide Action Network (PAN); forbidding them to be involved in taking decisions, to prevent such violations of human rights".

"Gender-specific after shocks, ranging from women giving birth in unsafe conditions to increased cases of rape and abuse" has become common findings among some surviving women of the tsunami in Sri Lanka", says PAN.

The Asia Pacific Women, Law and Development (APWLD), which has a membership of over 110 women's organisations across Asia and the Pacific, revealed that one of the worst violations of women's rights occurred in Sri Lanka.

"Survivors report unexplained variation" particularly in Sri Lanka, reports the University of California.

Fisherman without boats

In Sri Lanka, "it is not uncommon to find that fishermen in one village have received aid to rebuild their damaged boats, while fishermen in a nearby village have received no assistance" proclaims the East - West Centre, Honolulu in Hawaii, another internationally renowned centre for generating peace through "research, education, and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States".

"One fisherman (in Matara) complained that - they knew fishermen in Hambatota had obtained (new boats) because that was where the prime minister had a home", this was a statement by a tsunami survivor, in the Harvey M. Weinstein of University of California's report on Sri Lanka; After the tsunami.

The University of California's study shows discoveries of "government agencies as a result of favouritism, political influence, red tape, incompetence and caste affiliation, distributing aid in areas they pleased, without taking into account the equal right of all the tsunami survivors to require essential aid".

The East-West Centre has said that "relief, resettlement and reconstruction aid are largely taking place without consultation with the affected communities", resulting (for Sri Lanka) in "demonstrations against local authorities". This reflects Laurel Fletcher's voice recently, on how "Tsunami victims' have virtually no say in how their towns and communities will be re-built".

"Statistics and government reports do bear out the allegations regarding the disparate pace of reconstruction" says Harvey M. Weinstein. This is a "sharp contrast to what (was) heard in the North East". These allegations are backed up with evidence founded by the University of California, and illustrate an apparent unfairness between the Sri Lankans living in different locations across the country.

Arbitrary arrests

The book "After the Tsunami" by Human Rights Centre, University of California also demonstrates cases of "arbitrary arrests" not only in Sri Lanka but in other tsunami-affected areas such as Indonesia, Thailand, India and the Maldives.

The University of California have also discovered that there are "widespread inequities" furthermore APWLD voice that December's tsunami has ''sharpened existing inequalities''.

Whether these inequalities existed before the tsunami or not, it is clear that the onset of the tidal wave has provoked further breaches of human rights within the country, where "vulnerable populations [became] even more vulnerable" (East-West Centre).

The "psychological support is the next essential step to long-term livelihood recovery", states PAN.
 
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