COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
―UNHCR's most recent statistics, gathered from governments, show that as of end-
2010 there are some 141,063 Sri Lankan refugees in 65 countries, with a majority -
some 69,000 in 112 refugee camps and another 32,000 living outside camps in Tamil
Nadu, India. The other main countries with Sri Lankan refugees are France, Canada,
Germany, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Malaysia, the United States and Italy.‖
25.27 Additional information on the assistance provided by UNHCR in helping Sri Lankan
refugees return home is available from a dedicated section of the website of the
UNHCR Sri Lanka, accessible from here.
25.28 Specific information on the return to Sri Lanka of families with children; unaccompanied
and separated children reintegration support post return and monitoring mechanisms for
children is available from the European Commission, Comparative Study on Practices in
the Field of Return of Minors, December 2011 (see section 5.6 on Sri Lanka).
Returned failed asylum seekers
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25.29 Extensive information on the treatment of Tamils at Colombo airport is available from
the Report of the FCO information gathering visit to Colombo, Sri Lanka 23-29 August
2009, dated 22 October 2009 (FCO October 2009 report) 517 . The report stated:
―The sources interviewed commented on the procedures followed by the Department of
Immigration and Emigration (DIE) officials, who operate border control at the airport
[Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), located in Katunayake in the Gampaha
district]; and the circumstances in which the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Criminal
Investigations Department (CID) and Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) would
become involved.‖
25.30 The FCO October 2009 report 518 observed:
―Anyone who was wanted for an offence would be arrested. Those with a criminal
record or LTTE connections would face additional questioning and may be detained. In
general, non-government and international sources agreed that Tamils from the north
and east of the country were likely to receive greater scrutiny than others, and that the
presence of the factors below would increase the risk that an individual could encounter
difficulties with the authorities, including possible detention:
� ―outstanding arrest warrant
� ―criminal record
� ―connection with LTTE
� "illegal departure from Sri Lanka
517 Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), Report of the FCO information gathering visit to Colombo,
Sri Lanka 23-29 August 2009, 22 October 2009 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/igcolombo-
0809.doc date accessed 6 January 2010, paragraph 1.1
518 Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), Report of the FCO information gathering visit to Colombo,
Sri Lanka 23-29 August 2009, 22 October 2009 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/igcolombo-
0809.doc date accessed 6 January 2010, Executive Summary, Treatment of Tamils at Colombo airport
200 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.