Sri Lanka: Information on the treatment of Tamil women under the age of forty who are new arrivals to Colombo; on the conditions for resettlement in Colombo of young women from other regions; and on the social services and support groups available to them
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LKA22101.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sri Lanka: Information on the treatment of Tamil women under the age of forty who are new arrivals to Colombo; on the conditions for resettlement in Colombo of young women from other regions; and on the social services and support groups available to them, 1 January 1996, LKA22101.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab685c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on these subjects could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
The following information, although it refers to Tamil women in general, may be of interest.
According to the Sri Lanka Information Monitor: Situation Report for November 1995,, Tamil women in Colombo complained of being taken in for questioning by security forces without the obligatory female escort (7-8). In October 1995 many Tamil women in Colombo were arrested and detained for questioning, although many were released once their identities were established (ibid. Oct. 1995, 7). Two Tamil women reportedly "passing themselves off as Muslims" were among those detained (ibid.). In September 1995, many young Tamil women complained of police harassment in Colombo (ibid. Sept. 1995, 9). This harassment reportedly took place because a female Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) assassination squad was travelling to Colombo (ibid.; HRW 1995, 173). Five female LTTE suspects living under Muslim names were arrested in a Colombo lodge later that month (Sri Lanka Information Monitor Sept. 1995, 9).
According to a 1 June 1995 Reuters report, human rights activists claim that women detained by security forces during round-ups in Colombo and Tamil-majority areas in the northeast and central hills have been raped.
The November 1995 Sri Lanka Information Monitor attachment describes the effect of the war and the general situation in Colombo.
Please consult Response to Information Request LKA23043.E of 25 January 1996, available at Regional Documentation Centres, for further information on the situation of newly arrived Tamils to Colombo.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1995. Human Rights Watch World Report 1996. New York: HRW.
Reuters. 1 June 1995. BC Cycle. Rohan Gunasekera. "Sri Lanka Acts to Stem Human Rights Abuses." (NEXIS)
Sri Lanka Information Monitor: Situation Report [Colombo]. November 1995. "The Impact of the War in the South."
_____. October 1995. "Situation of Tamils in the South."
_____. September 1995. "Arrests of Tamils in the South."
Attachments
Reuters. 1 June 1995. BC Cycle. Rohan Gunasekera. "Sri Lanka Acts to Stem Human Rights Abuses." (NEXIS)
Sri Lanka Information Monitor: Situation Report [Colombo]. November 1995. "The Impact of the War in the South," pp. 7-8.
_____. October 1995. "Situation of Tamils in the South," p. 7.
_____. September 1995. "Arrests of Tamils in the South," p. 9.
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report. Yearly. 1994, 1995.
Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. January 1993 to present.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1995.
Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1993, 1994, 1995.
Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly. January 1993 to present.
Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa. March 1995. Sri Lanka: Internal Flight Alternative An Update.
_____. February 1995. Sri Lanka: Chronology of Events, September 1992-November 1994.
DIRB "Amnesty International: Sri Lanka" country file. April 1995 to present.
DIRB Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. January 1994 to present.
DIRB "Sri Lanka" country file. April 1995 to present.
Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) [Hong Kong]. Weekly. April 1995 to present.
International Service Group (ISG), Citizenship and Immigration, Hull. Infrequent reports from the mission abroad. 1994 to present.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. April 1995 to present.
News from Asia Watch [New York]. Monthly. 1990 to present.
Office of Asylum Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. January 1995. Sri Lanka: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.
Tamil Information: News Bulletin of the Tamil Information Centre [London]. Bi-monthly. January/February 1994 to present.
UNHCR databases.
On-line search of media sources.
Oral sources.
Note on oral sources:
Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.