MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
I am pleased to announce further Australian support for the Sri Lankan peace
process.
At a donors meeting being hosted by the Norwegian Government in Oslo today,
Australia is pledging an additional $2.2 million for peacebuilding and
community rehabilitation in conflict-affected areas.
This brings Australia's aid commitment to Sri Lanka for the current
financial year to about $13.6 million, nearly 20 per cent above our original
budget.
The new pledge will provide $1.6 million for resettlement and rehabilitation
programs and $500,000 for de-mining activities in the North East of Sri Lanka,
bringing our total contribution to UNDP's Mine Action Program this year to
$1.15 million.
In addition, Australia has agreed to provide technical assistance in the
area of constitutional reform for the Sri Lankan Peace
Secretariat.
We also will be exploring options with the Sri Lankan Government and World
Bank to harness information and communication technologies as a means of
integrating the North and East into Sri Lanka's broader development
process.
Since 1997, Australia has provided around $45 million in support of
humanitarian objectives in Sri Lanka. This year alone, Australia has
committed around $13.8 million for activities focused on resettlement,
micro-finance, de-mining, the rehabilitation of child soldiers and food
aid.
Australia is a significant contributor of development assistance throughout
Sri Lanka. In addition to supporting direct humanitarian and resettlement
objectives in conflict affected areas, we also contribute to Sri Lanka's
broader national development goals in key sectors.
These include child and maternal nutrition, poverty reduction, and the
environment, incorporating activities that address income generation and
natural resource and waste management.
Recent developments include plans for a natural resource management project
in the southern dry zone to cost $ 9.9 million over six years, and a boost to
funding for a coastal environment management project currently valued at $ 3.4
million.
Media Contacts:
Chris Kenny (Ministerial) 02 6 277 7500 or 0419 206 890
Jo Elsom (AusAID) 02 6206 4960 or 0412 404 489