UN welcomes Sri Lanka's efforts to bring back refugees from India
The United Nations has welcomed Sri Lanka's new initiative to simplify immigration procedures for refugees returning from India. This move aims to facilitate the voluntary and dignified return of thousands of refugees who fled during the country's civil war.
Why it matters
It represents a significant humanitarian development in resolving long-standing displacement issues resulting from the Sri Lankan civil war.
The United Nations on Saturday (August 22, 2026) welcomed Sri Lanka ’s decision to simplify immigration procedures to expedite the voluntary return of refugees from India who left the country without valid documents during its decades-long civil war.
The Sri Lankan government earlier this month made special arrangements for the initiative aimed at streamlining the process to facilitate the return of refugees from India.
Sri Lankan refugees began arriving in Tamil Nadu in large numbers after ethnic violence in the island nation that started in 1983, and the subsequent escalation of the armed conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which went on for nearly three decades.
While around 18,000 of them returned home between 2002 and 2022, approximately 90,000 refugees continue to reside in the southern Indian State.
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