ISI VR Hill Country Tamils of Sri Lanka: Towards Meaningful Citizenship Despite positive law reform, Hill Country Tamils remain one of the most discriminated against and economically, socially and politically marginalised communities in the country. to the community is inadequate to address and overcome the legacy of statelessness. A rightsbased development approach requires active measures to address the structural discrimination and marginalisation faced by the community. This requires development actors to actively consult the Hill Country Tamil population, to ensure that any development action plans address the real needs of the community as articulated by the community. It also demands transparency and ultimately accountability of development actors to the community. In the absence of this, ‘formal citizenship’ alone falls short of translating into the enjoyment of the full benefits of citizenship in a meaningful manner. A failure to understand the long-term impact of statelessness and the ongoing structural discrimination endured by the Hill Country Tamils can further the marginalisation of the community’s needs and interests. This study aims to contribute towards a deeper understanding of the developmental challenges faced by the community and the importance of ensuring that when stateless persons and communities are granted a nationality, it must be an effective and meaningful one.3 page 4