A/HRC/34/53/Add.3 V. Specific groups of concern A. Internally displaced persons 42. The Special Rapporteur was alarmed to hear that large numbers of communities were still living in precarious situations of displacement seven years after the war. According to the Ministry of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs, as at 31 August 2016, a total of 13,670 families (43,607 persons) had yet to be resettled. 8 This included 936 families (3,260 persons) in the camp known as the “welfare centre” in Jaffna, as well as 262 families (652 persons) in the welfare centre in Trincomalee. The rest were residing with host communities. With the exception of the displacement caused by the 2004 tsunami, displacement in Sri Lanka has a distinctly ethnic dimension. Even before the war, a significant number of Indian Tamils were displaced from the plantations at different times owing to ethnic strife and violence, most notably in 1983. While some 22,000 Sinhalese were reportedly displaced in the 1980s and 1990s owing to the conflict (see A/HRC/26/33/Add.4, para. 13), including those expelled by LTTE, a majority of the internally displaced population were Tamils and Muslims displaced during the conflict in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Many of the Tamils fled to India and elsewhere. 43. One of the most harrowing episodes of displacement was the systematic expulsion by LTTE of some 75,000 (ibid., para. 10) to 100,000 9 Muslims in the North in a matter of 48 hours in October 1990. They were forced to abandon their belongings, and most went to Puttalam, where they lived in camps for decades. Today, less than 20 per cent of the Muslim internally displaced are said to have been resettled, and the number of Muslims who continue to live in displacement camps is said to be as high as 33,974. 10 This is attributable to the long-standing neglect by successive Governments, as well as the international community, in terms of assistance for return, resettlement or other durable solution. The Special Rapporteur was told that the Muslims of the North had been deprioritized as “old” internally displaced persons by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at the end of the war and excluded by the Government from the various housing schemes. 44. There are many factors that complicate the process of return or resettlement. While the land held by the military is one reason for the protracted displacement of the population in the North and East, there are other factors, such as loss of deeds or other evidence of ownership; the original land or property was destroyed or no longer habitable; and others were occupying the land or property. Civil society representatives, Tamils and Muslims alike, expressed deep frustration about the lack of transparency and accountability with respect to administrative processes to reclaim and return to their lands or to be provided with alternative solutions that met their minimum requirements. 45. While the ethnicity and the origins of those displaced may differ, it was clear that all the displaced communities suffered from similar economic and social difficulties. They uniformly find it difficult to exercise voting rights, since those rights are linked to registered, permanent addresses. Accessing education, employment and public services also presents significant challenges. Many interlocutors attributed these difficulties to discrimination on the part of the majority community in the area, including the State authorities, as well as to the absence of material or financial assistance, including for 8 9 10 See http://resettlementmin.gov.lk/site/index.php?option=com_ content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=21&lang=en, last accessed on 16 November 2016. Letter dated 19 October from the All Ceylon Makkal Congress addressed to the Special Rapporteur. Ibid. 11