Commentary on the Census on human and property damages due to conflict 2013
5 March 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The results of the ‘Census on human and property damages due to conflict – 2013’ are due to be published in March 2014, in time for the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva from 3 – 28 March 2014. However, despite the Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics claiming that this census will “help arrive at an exact decision on the persons missing and died during the period of conflict in the country”, it is evident from the methodology juxtaposed against the fear and intimidation people feel in the Northern Province alone, that the ‘Census on human and property damages due to conflict – 2013’ will not reveal the true extent of death, disappearance and damage caused by the war.