Delays in registration with the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai has resulted in 17000 Tamil children from the North-East of Sri Lanka being rendered stateless reported The Hindu. Registration is essential if Sri Lankan citizenship is to be granted to these children.
The Hindu reported that a backlog of applications had been caused by the State government suspending a process that had been set up to help facilitate registration. Mobile camps in the Collectorates, which Deputy High Commission officials visited to collect applications, have now been put on hold due to a “misunderstanding” the founder of the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR), S.C. Chandrahasan is quoted as saying.
Possession of nationality is an essential prerequisite for the enjoyment of the full range of human rights.
There are currently 66,000 Tamil refugees from the North-East of Sri Lanka living in 110 camps spread across Tamil Nadu with another 34,000 living outside the camps.
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