- The UNHCR has been working with Colombo to resume voluntary repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees
- 200 refugees have been returned last year; about 50 more have expressed interest in returning this year
- India has been hosting more than 80,000 Sri Lankan refugees, many living in Tamil Nadu for decades
The United Nations Refugee Agency is working closely with the Colombo Mission to resume the voluntary repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees, Aretti Sienni, UNHCR Chief of Mission in India, said in an exclusive interview with NDTV after the arrest of four returnees on arrival in Sri Lanka. The repatriation process had been suspended.
Calling the arrests "worrying," Sienni said the agency hopes that repatriation will resume soon. She noted that 200 Sri Lankan refugees had returned to their homeland last year and around 50 more have expressed interest this year.
She said the UNHCR continues to work with Indian authorities to ensure that refugees have access to durable solutions - whether through citizenship, repatriation, or resettlement.
India currently hosts more than 80,000 Sri Lankan refugees, many of whom have lived in Tamil Nadu for decades.
Since 2002, 18,643 refugees have returned to Sri Lanka under the voluntary repatriation programme.
However, for the three generations of refugees living in India - including many born on Indian soil - the absence of a refugee legislation remains a major hurdle.
Without citizenship, they continue to live in special refugee camps monitored by the Q Branch of the state police.
Although the younger generation has pursued higher education, many are forced into low-paying or menial jobs, as employers are reluctant to hire non-citizens.
Aspiring refugees are also denied access to medical education in government colleges, and many among the younger lot - born and raised in India - now consider India their only home, with no desire to return to Sri Lanka.
The Citizenship Amendment Act does not penalise Sri Lankan refugees as illegal immigrants, but it also does not extend the fast-track citizenship provisions offered to non-Muslim migrants from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
Amid this legal void, the Tamil Nadu government has been taking initiatives to improve the socio-economic conditions of Sri Lankan refugees - from livelihood and skill development programmes to financial assistance for women's self-help groups and partnerships with industries to nurture the educated refugee talent pool, including those in the IT sector. The government is also aiming to power them to start up.
Sienni said the granting of citizenship is ultimately India's prerogative, but noted that the Tamil Nadu government, in collaboration with legal practitioners and civil society, has been working to help eligible refugees secure Indian citizenship.
The UNHCR, she added, has been providing technical support and policy advice to both state and central governments to expand pathways toward inclusion.
"Citizenship is a concrete demonstration of belonging to a country - a solution available to very few refugees globally," Sienni said. "When it becomes available, it puts an end to refugeehood and allows people to fully participate in the society and economy where they live," he added.
Amid demands for grants of citizenship to Lankan refugees, she called the initiatives by Tamil Nadu and the Union government "an important example for the world," noting that significant investments have been made to help refugees become self-reliant and productive members of society.
