HUMAN SECURITY REPORT June Volume 3, Second Quarter This issue... Covers the period April to June Introduction Taylor Owen in an article titled Human Rights, Human Security and Disarmament has discussed the differentiations between traditional security and human security. He points out that the primary premise of this differentiation is based on the referent object of security. The following table is explains his argument. Type of Security Referent object Responsibility to protect Traditional security The state The integrity of the state Human security The individual The integrity of the individual Possible threats Interstate war Nuclear proliferation Revolution Disease Poverty Natural disaster Violence Landmines Human rights abuses In discussing possible threats category, Owen brings out an interesting observation in detailing what actually could be regarded as a threat to human security and what should not be considered as such. His recommendation is that all possible threats must be assessed based on its severity and only those that surpass a threshold of severity should be recognised as a threat. These observations and comments are contributory to the ongoing debate on traditional security and human security and the boundary demarcations of each. This debate is applicable to the present Sri Lankan context where for better policy decisions; clarifications are needed as to what can be considered threats to human security. General Situation The period of four months from April to June have been marked in the Northeast with a number of hartals, protests and demonstration over numerous reasons. These demonstrations have had the day today activities in the protest held areas crippled and have also contributed to mounting tensions amongst communities. The following is an account of the number of protests that took place in the given districts. 1
CHA District Office Areas April May June East- Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee North- Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Puttalam 6 th /April: Some members of the Muslim community protested and held a hartal because a Buddhist statue was constructed in Pottuvil. The hartal was organised by the welfare societies in the area. 26 th March, 6 th & 9 th April/Jaffna: Protests by Fishermen Societies and CBOs were held at various locations in the Jaffna district condemning the new construction of SLA sentry points within 200 meters of coast while prohibiting rehabilitation of civilian buildings in the same area and delays in providing relief to those affected by the tsunami. 16 th /Trincomalee: A hartal was staged by the Tamil Peoples Forum; shops, businesses and schools were closed and security personnel set up checkpoints around the area in protest of a Buddha statue near the Trincomalee bus stand. A curfew was imposed on 17 th, when 9 explosions occurred in different locations in the town, where seven people were injured. 5 th /Jaffna: Large crowds carrying black flags and placards protested against the visit of the Governor of Northeast Province Mr. Tyronne Fernando 7 th /Jaffna & 10 th /Vavuniya: Several members of media gathered in protest of the murder of the journalist Mr. T. Sivaram 3 rd June/Trincomalee: A hartal was organised by the Tamil Forum, in protest of a larger Buddha statue being placed in town. 03 rd June/Jaffna: A harthal was observed in protest to the non removal of security deployment in Trincomalee as agreed earlier. Security sentry posts at Munai in Point Pedro DS Division and Meesalai in Chavakachcheri DS Divisions were burnt down by protesters. 20 th /Jaffna: The Private Bus Association went on strike and the public gathered in protest of an accident involving a motorbike and a private bus. One of the passengers on the motorbike was killed and others were injured in the accident. The protest and hartals are a form of expression used by people to voice their displeasure about incidents that they feel have an adverse effect on their lives. While these protests are taking place in the districts, the government was seen to be taking various steps towards development initiatives. The Development Forum held in Kandy on 15 th and 16 th of March and the Joint Mechanism initiative are the best examples for such development initiatives. The most prominent feature of the discussion held at the forum focused on bringing people to the spotlight- in readjusting development strategies that ensured the contribution of the people in the decision-making process to establish subsidiarity and ownership. As pointed out in the Introduction, Owen speaks of the boundaries that should be administered in taking into consideration the actual threats to human security of the people based on levels of severity. The ambiguous question that arises in introducing and implementing new development policies therefore is bringing in these limitations to the Sri Lankan context and deciding upon what should be and should be not taken into consideration. Undoubtedly, this process is necessary but it would not reduce in any way the implications that would follow. 2
MDGs- The Sri Lankan Context The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Country Report launched at the Development Forum has pointed out that Sri Lanka s commitment to achieve these Goals by 2015 as a commitment to change. The report also states that the challenge in achieving MDGs in Sri Lanka is the regional differences in MDG achievement. A greater part of the country s wealth and activity is located in the Western Province. Poverty is concentrated in rural areas and performance in health, education, access to water and sanitation differs greatly between districts. Achieving the MDGs mean recognising the right of everyone to development and making it a priority to improve the situation of the poor and vulnerable, based on the simple principle of needs 1. Since Sri Lanka s commitment to the MDGs are recommended to be realised through local actions, local action plans need to be drawn up enabling approaches that suit each region best. Local resources and skills of people themselves, with the support of policies and national financial resources are essential ingredients in achieving the MDGs. Improving governance is also another factor towards achieving MDGs. Governance is the way a society organises itself to make and implement decisions- achieving mutual understanding, agreement and action. It has been recommended that in achieving the MDGs, better governance is required of society as a whole in the following areas: - Mechanisms for citizen groups to articulate their interests, participate in decisions concerning their future and exercise their legal rights and obligations - The rule of law; access to justice, safety from violence and physical abuse - An accountable and efficient public administration - Greater transparency- open and accurate information - Sound economic policies, a strengthened role of Government as an enabler of private sector activities in support of MDGs, and eliminating corruption - An active civil society; helping to empower people and contribute to policy making The international community has shown tremendous support for Sri Lanka after the tsunami. The challenge now is to ensure that assistance is effective and can reach the poorest in all areas. Since international trade and foreign direct investment are productive ways in which developed countries can continue to support Sri Lanka, measures should be taken to ensure that the benefits of trade and investment reach the poor. Achieving MDGs should be a collective activity. The poor themselves should be part of formulating solutions to their problems, with the help of civil society. The private sector can contribute to growth and job creation in poor areas, if supported by infrastructures and other public investments. Agreement by all stakeholders on a simple agenda for reaching the poorest in Sri Lanka, in support of peace, unity and prosperity is the necessary at present. Poverty; post-conflict & post-tsunami Poverty reduction strategies in Sri Lanka are focused on yardsticks such as the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Sri Lanka Millennium Development Goals Country Report launched at this Forum, clearly states that though country has achieved significant progress in non-income poverty alleviation, the same cannot be said about income poverty 2. It has been estimated that there are around 5 million people living in poverty, though the exact figure 3 is unknown owing to the unavailability of statistics. 7% of the population are estimated 1 The article is drawn largely from: Millennium Development Goals Country Report. ISBN 955-1213-00-9 2 See further Millennium Development Goals Country Report 3 New Development Strategy-Sri Lanka; Framework for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction. Ministry of Finance and Planning. May 3
to be living with an income of US$ 1 or less per day, while 44% of the population are on US$ 2 per day. 60% of the latter category is in the rural areas. Added dimensions to the complex poverty dynamics that have been in existent are post-conflict and post-tsunami related poverty challenges. Poor have been categorised as differently-abled (274, 711: Census 2001), conflict-affected poor, tsunami poor. Women and children have been separately identified under each of these categories. 51% of the Sri Lankan population constitute of women out of which 22% are unemployed. They are under-represented in many-disciplines and many of the employment opportunities available for women are in the unorganised and informal sectors. Women represent 76% of the unskilled labour force. 65% of female-headed households are those of widows. A significant proportion of Sri Lanka s population of 20 million is consistent of children. Children under 18 years are about 36% and infants are 1.6% and 7.2% are children under 4 years of age. Though economic growth, even during the period of war has been 5%, it has not conferred to development benchmarks. Economic reform initiatives of market liberalization, deregulation & privatisation have produced mixed and sub-optimum results in terms of reducing unemployment levels, regional disparities in poverty and national debt 4. The need for a new development strategy is therefore timely. The government s new development strategy is focusing on achieving medium term development objectives such as- An overall growth rate in the range of 6-8% since a growth rate below 5% is inadequate for employment generation and poverty reduction Ensuring a widespread development in order to reduce growing regional disparities with pro-poor growth strategies Improve country s international competitiveness and investment climate to raise investment in excess of 30% of GDP Strengthen country s external assets It has been estimated that conflict recovery costs has been US$ 4.5 billion over 4 years in 2002, while post-tsunami recovery has been estimated at US$ 1.8 billion. Public debt has therefore arisen upto 100% of GDP at present. It has been accounted that US$ 853 has been pledged as post-tsunami recovery support within the non-profit sector. Government has received pledges for US$ 200 million for the immediate relief and rehabilitation of 100,000 people and US$ 1.8 billion for phase two of post-tsunami recovery involving rebuilding and reconstruction of damaged assets for 3-5 year period. Apart from these supports, US$ 1590 million has been pledged by development partners with an allocation US$ 500 million for the Northeast. Debt moratoriums have also been approved in support of the governmental activities 5. The challenge of managing, retaining and sustaining the credibility of the process of intervention, recovery and development is a task for government, private sector, citizens and agencies. All these efforts have got to, in the final analysis provide adequate and timely assistance in a manner sought by the willingness to allow for critical evaluation of collective working methods, the use of resources, the utility of resources including the impact, options to work in partnership with government, local authorities, the private sector, citizen groups and other organised entities. The persisting issues concerning moving from transitional shelter to permanent housing, individual housing as opposed flats, livelihood issues, social problems such as tsunami affected people being stigmatised as tsunami beggars need to be taken into 4 Jayasundera, P.B., A Framework for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction-Medium Terms Perspectives. Paper presented at the Development Forum Kandy, 5 Cooray, S., Donor support, pledges, commitments and expenditure; The Process. Ministry of External Affairs and Planning. Paper presented at the Development Forurn 4
consideration in the implementation process. Remedial measures need to be taken in these cases and the need for these measures are urgent. Praful Patel, Vice President of the World Bank in his opening remarks at the Development Forum has pointed out that the challenge before the development partners is not financing post-tsunami recovery but rather the implementation of activities. In this sense, the challenges outlined by him are- Getting people back into homes transition housing, the acquisition and allocation of land for resettlement housing, buffer zone and its applicability in practical and humanistic terms, involvement of affected populations in decisions that affect their lives Consultation arrangements with local populations, subsidiarity and the role of the local levels of government Coordination at the central and local levels, involvement of donors, NGOs and the private sector collectively in discussions and planning with government at all levels. As the funds available for financing are mainly through private financing, allocation of such funds should be driven solely on needs. Accountability and ensuring the good governance of funds In conclusion, it can be pointed out that for all development activities to be successful essentials are commitment, partnership and peace. It is only through sustainable peace that we can hope to see the prospects of development and poverty reduction for all Sri Lankans 6. This report is a publication by the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies Compiled & Edited by Dinusha Pathiraja, Programme Officer-CHA Printing Handled by Samantha Indrajith, Office Assistant-CHA Your comments can be sent to: po_hsp@cha.lk or The Human Security Programme The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies No.86, Rosmead Place Colombo 07 Sri Lanka Tel/Fax: 94-11-4-610943/4 (Ext.104) CHA website: www.humanitarian-srilanka.org 6 Patel, P., Opening Remarks at the Development Forum 5