H. Res. 711 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
November 4, 2009. 
Whereas May 2009 marked the conclusion of the 26-year 
struggle between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE), a State Department designated Foreign Ter-
rorist Organization, and the Government of Sri Lanka, 
and the Government of Sri Lanka committed itself to 
caring for and ensuring the speedy return of the civilians 
internally displaced as a result of the fighting; 
Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka is seeking to identify 
former combatants who were part of the LTTE and as 
part of the vetting process the Government of Sri Lanka 
has set up make-shift camps that initially housed over 
280,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled 
their homes as the war drew to an end; 
Whereas of those 280,000 internally displaced persons at the 
end of the war, approximately 10,000 of those individuals 
are being separately held by the Government of Sri 
Lanka as former combatants or on suspicion of having 
supported the LTTE; 
Whereas as part of the United Nations Human Rights Coun-
cil 11th Special Session on Sri Lanka held on May 27, 
2009, the Government of Sri Lanka made commitments 
to the world to improve the conditions for the civilians
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housed in the camps and stated that the ‘‘bulk’’ of the 
IDPs would be resettled within 180 days; 
Whereas as of October 23, 2009, over 51,000 IDPs have 
been released from the closed camps in the Vanni, and 
of those 36,000 have been returned to their districts of 
origin and found accommodation in their own homes or, 
pending return to their homes, with host families and in 
vacant houses of friends or relatives; and over 16,000 
IDPs of special categories, such as the elderly, pregnant 
women and their families, priests, students, or people of 
special needs, have been released to host families or insti-
tutions; 
Whereas as of October 23, 2009, some 220,000 civilian IDPs 
still remain in military-guarded camps in the four north-
ern 
districts 
of 
Vavuniya, 
Mannar, 
Jaffna, 
and 
Trincomalee; 
Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka has announced that 
it would facilitate in the next few weeks the voluntary re-
turn of over 40,000 civilian IDPs by the end of October 
and 60,000 per month of the remaining IDPs in the 
camps; 
Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka has made some 
progress in easing camp congestion, registering IDPs, ex-
panding access to humanitarian organizations, and 
demining the north, but much remains to be done to im-
prove humanitarian conditions, particularly before the 
onset of the monsoon season; 
Whereas the United States is urging the safe and speedy re-
turn of civilian IDPs, continued access for international 
humanitarian organizations, and the registration and
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provision of national identification cards to IDPs, to help 
promote freedom of movement; and 
Whereas the United States supports the rapid release and 
voluntary return of all civilian IDPs as a critical element 
of national reconciliation in Sri Lanka: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) urges the Government of Sri Lanka, consistent 
with its obligation to provide security for all of its citi-
zens, to expeditiously allow freedom of movement for ci-
vilian internally displaced persons (IDPs) to leave their 
camps voluntarily and return in safety and dignity to 
their homes or, where that is not possible, to live with 
host families or move to open transit sites; 
(2) calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure 
that IDP camps are truly civilian in nature and adminis-
tered by civilian authorities, rather than under military 
supervision, and give full access to national and inter-
national humanitarian organizations and observers, in-
cluding the International Committee of the Red Cross, 
in order to monitor the situation and to assist in the 
care of IDPs; and 
(3) urges the Government of Sri Lanka to promote 
justice and political reconciliation for all parties, and en-
gage in dialogue with all parties, including Tamils inside 
and outside Sri Lanka on new mechanisms for devolving
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power, improving human rights, and increasing account-
ability. 
Attest: 
Clerk.