JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — March 26, 2026 — The United Nations’ top representative in Sri Lanka on Thursday called for urgent action to resolve long-standing land disputes in the country’s north, after meeting farmers who have been barred from accessing their lands for nearly a decade despite holding legal title.
Marc-André Franche, the U.N. Resident Coordinator and representative of the Secretary-General in Sri Lanka, visited Kovilvayal, a village in the Kilinochchi district, where he met with affected families and surveyed lands that residents say have remained inaccessible since 2015 due to state designations linked to forestry and wildlife protection.
In a statement posted on social media following the visit, Mr. Franche said that around 1,420 acres — including paddy fields, private lands, and cemeteries — had been out of reach for local communities.
“Resolving these land issues … is not only an issue of fairness, but of development, growth and poverty reduction,” he said, adding that landowners must be involved in decision-making processes and, at a minimum, compensated.
The remarks come as land ownership disputes continue to simmer in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces, where Tamil communities have long complained of losing access to ancestral lands after parts were brought under state control or reclassified for conservation purposes in the years following the end of the civil war in 2009.
Farmers who met Mr. Franche described deepening economic hardship, saying that their inability to cultivate their land had eroded household incomes and increased their dependence on irregular work. Some also raised concerns over restricted access to burial grounds, underscoring the cultural and emotional dimensions of the dispute.
Sri Lankan officials have previously defended such land classifications as necessary for environmental conservation, particularly in ecologically sensitive zones. However, rights groups and local activists argue that the process has often lacked transparency and adequate consultation, leaving communities in prolonged uncertainty.
Political observers said Mr. Franche’s intervention was likely to intensify scrutiny of the government’s handling of land disputes in the north, an issue that has remained politically sensitive years after the end of the civil war.
But some affected residents expressed caution about the impact of such high-profile visits. One farmer who spoke to Jaffna Monitor said that raising the issue once would not be enough to bring meaningful change.
“Just highlighting this at one point will be seen as symbolic rather than a serious intervention,” he said. “What is needed is sustained engagement — continuous pressure on the government — not a one-time visit or a photo opportunity.”
No immediate response was available from Sri Lankan authorities regarding the envoy’s remarks, and it remained unclear whether the government would engage further following the envoy’s visit.
