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.
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).
Women in Sri Lanka’s predominantly Tamil-speaking north and east are facing a desperate lack of security in the aftermath of the long civil war. Today many still live in fear of violence from various sources. Those who fall victim to it have little means of redress. Women’s eco- nomic security is precarious, and their physical mobility is limited. The heavily militarised and centralised control of the north and east – with almost exclusively male, Sin- halese security forces – raises particular problems for women there in terms of their safety, sense of security and ability to access assistance. They have little control over their lives and no reliable institutions to turn to. The gov- ernment has mostly dismissed women’s security issues and exacerbated fears, especially in the north and east. The international community has failed to appreciate and re- spond effectively to the challenges faced by women and girls in the former war zone. A concerted and immediate effort to empower and protect them is needed.