The population of asylum seekers and refugees in Sri Lanka witnessed a dramatic 700 per cent increase during the period 2013-14 and as at 30 June 2014, there are 1562 asylum seekers and 308 refugees in the country, the External Affairs Ministry said today.

“Investigations have revealed that the sudden increase in the number of asylum seekers in Sri Lanka was as a result of people falling victim to commercially driven human trafficking networks which abuse the liberal visa policy in place in the country exacerbated by a sharp increase in the numbers resettled in third countries in 2012.”

“Regrettably, the process of resettlement slowed down considerably in 2013/14. It is therefore questionable whether they have a legitimate claim to seek asylum,” the ministry said, in response to the number of inquiries it has received on the return of individual asylum seekers, mainly of Pakistan origin.

The statement says that the influx of asylum seekers and their tendency not to have an established place of residence has resulted in serious law & order, security, as well as health related issues for the authorities.

“In fact, in April 2014, ten cases of malaria were detected among these asylum seekers. This detection was made at a time when Sri Lanka, having achieved zero indigenous cases of malaria for the past several years, was under consideration for obtaining WHO certification,” it said.

The Government of Sri Lanka, in keeping with its obligations under customary international law, has been engaging consistently with UNHCR to address and manage the asylum seeker population, particularly its increase, it said.

Having examined the UNHCR’s proposed Action Plan for this purpose, it is evident that the timeline on the final resolution remains unchanged from the current practice. It may be noted that in some cases, resettlement applications have been pending for over 5 years, the external affairs ministry said. 

“State responsibility on its international obligations are nuanced and balanced in the context of domestic compulsions. A State cannot be expected to carry a burden of this nature for an indefinite period of time.”

“Therefore, these asylum seekers are being encouraged to return, in the vital security interests of Sri Lanka and the region,” it said.