http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Family_tracing _and_reunification_of_the_war_displaced_20130731_05

 

Family tracing and reunification of the war displaced

A large number of children were left orphaned or separated from their families due to LTTE atrocities during their reign of terror in the country. With the end of the war the government took necessary measures to locate and reunite these orphaned or separated children with their families. A special mechanism was set up for this purpose.

Under this programme a total of 615 children from the Manik farm PARC were reunified with their parents and relatives with the assistance of Probation Department and in keeping with legal procedures. Furthermore another 300 children who were temporarily placed in children's homes were also reunified with their parents and families by the Probation Department.

With the success of this project, 2428 complaints of missing persons from 13 districts were received by government and nongovernment organizations. This led to the Vavuniya Government Agent and the Probation Commissioner (Northern Province) to jointly established the Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR) Unit for unaccompanied and separated children with the support and the approval of the Governor, Northern Province. Furthermore the UNICEF provided financial and technical assistance.

With coming to being of the FTR unit additional human resources were provided for the effective functioning of the unit. They also distributed Informative posters among the partners and agencies and established a help line (0243248309 / 0212283824) for public assistance.

Available Data Sources For Tracing Children	Function of FTR

Under this project, parents of lost children first have to go through a journal which includes photos and updated details of the children, published by the FTR unit. If the details of the children are not in the book they should fill the 'Help line Registration' form and assist the unit in order to carry out further investigation of the child.

Registry

Inside the Registry

Help line Registration form

 

Among the complaints as of 18th December 2012 there were 386 girls, 359 boys, 1168 men and 515 women missing or lost. Most of the displaced children were within the age group of 16 to18. And till now 147 cases regarding the children have been resolved.

Missing case load as of 31.12.2012 Children and Adults	Caseload Overview	Percentage of Age Group of Children

Children already reunified with the families

Action Plan of FTR for the next 2 years

• Move FTR hub to Killinochchi
• Active tracing in districts outside of the North and East
• Provision of counseling support through trained councilors/social workers
• Awareness raising on Registration of Deaths (Temporary Provisions) Act to facilitate the documentation of children confirmed to be dead
• Capacity building of approximately 150 Probation Officers and Assistants and other child protection actors on tracing and working with families during the process of tracing and reunification
• Establishment/Maintaining of a comprehensive database for tracing and reunification
• Technical support to data management, coordinate the collection of information at local level
• Training of probation and child protection officers on active tracing and data management
• Raise awareness and mobilize various stakeholders on missing children.
• Linking the FTR registration services with the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) helpline (1929)

On 08th July 2012 Secretary Defense and Urban Development Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a meeting with a delegation related to the project. The delegation comprised of Commissioner of probation, Chief Rep. of UNICEF, Sri Lanka, child protection officer of UNICEF, Vavuniya and consultant FTR unit.

Secretary Defence directed to expand the timely needed project to assist the families with missing personnel with the collaboration of Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) and he also asked to analyze the details included in police reports regarding the missing personnel. Secretary's initiatives in this regard have been greatly helpful for the efficient function of the FTR unit.

According to the investigations carried out by the FTR unit it is oblivious that there are a less number of people including adults and children who were misplaced during terrorist conflict. The figures are greatly exaggerated.