Your Excellency,

Over 75000 Muslim persons expelled from their native districts of Northern Srilanka by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam within a short period of time in October 1990. Within the context of the 26 year conflict in Srilanka, the expulsion of these people by the LTTE stands out in terms of scale, impact and its expilicit tones of ethnic cleansing and the durable solution remains one of the key post conflict challenges. The Muslim community is met with massive losses in terms of human rights, education and economy due to the forcible eviction. In the post war-context, return to the area of origin has become possible for internally displaced persons in 2009. The resettlement issue of the Northern Muslim community still remains unresolved. Resettlement of the community must ensure that they have equal access to resources, land, employment, housing opportunities and the protection of their rights in all aspects while building reconciliation and trust among ethnicities in Northern Srilanka.

Therefore, we kindly urge to appoint the Presidential Commission to find durable solutions to this protracted displacement of Northern Muslims.