The Sri Lankan government won its long war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, but the legacy of unlawful detention practices established during the conflict continues. Constitutional provisions and other legal and procedural guarantees meant to protect individuals from wrongful incarceration and ensure fair prosecution of suspects have been supplanted in Sri Lanka by provisions of antiterrorism laws and emergency measures geared to serve perceived military expediency rather than protect human rights and the rule of law.

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By the end of January 2012, 432,566 people (129,479 families) had returned to the Northern Province. This figure includes 225,788 people (71,333 families) displaced after April 2008 and 206,778 persons (58,146 families) displaced before April 20081 .

At the end of January 6,567 IDPs (1,972 families), displaced after April 2008, remained in camps awaiting return to their areas of origin. An additional 7,503 IDPs (2,036 families) from the protracted or long-term caseload, displaced prior to April 2008, remained in welfare centers in Jaffna and Vavuniya districts.

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Considerable progress has been made towards the commitment by the Government of Sri Lanka to finding a durable solution for all people displaced by the war, including return to their home areas. Since the humanitarian crisis triggered by the displacement of nearly 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons from the conflict zone in 2008 and into 2009, the Government ensured basic humanitarian assistance to those in camps, supported by the United Nations (UN), national and international NonGovernment Organizations (NGOs), and International Organizations (IOs).

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