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Tuesday, 22 September 2015 01:32 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Dharisha Bastians Reporting from Geneva
The Government has opposed the first draft of the US-sponsored resolution to promote reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, calling it “repetitive, judgmental and prescriptive” and counterproductive to the reconciliation process in the island.
Sri Lanka’s Per-manent Represent-ative to the UN in Geneva, Amba-ssador Ravinatha Aryasinha told member states attending an informal consultation at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on the language of the draft resolution, urged sponsors of the resolution and its supporting partners to ensure the draft was “sensitive to constitutional and institutional difficulties” in implementing its recommendations and “political realities” in the country.
The US draft resolution contains 26 operative paragraphs – or clauses calling for action by the Government of Sri Lanka – including the need for international judges, prosecutors and investigators in the transitional justice mechanism that will address serious wartime abuses.
“My delegation is of the view that a lengthy resolution of the nature of the current draft before us…..which is repetitive, judgmental and prescriptive is not in keeping with the spirit of the process of reconciliation efforts of the Government. Neither is it helpful in adopting a collaborative approach to reaching consensus,” Ambassador Aryasinha charged.
The Sri Lankan Head of Mission said that many paragraphs in the present draft resolution had a tendency to “polarise communities, vitiate the atmosphere on the ground that is being carefully nurtured towards reconciliation and peace building.”
“There is a real danger that the current approach will leave room for negative interpretation, thus, only helping ‘spoilers’ in this process,” Ambassador Aryasinha added. The remark was a reference to backlash against the Government emerging from hardline nationalist quarters in Sri Lanka, that were strongly opposed to international judges and prosecutors in Sri Lanka’s domestic accountability process.
Ambassador Aryasinha said that the resolution had been rendered “imbalanced” because of what he called “excessive emphasis” on the ‘criminal justice’ aspects, even though the OHCHR report on Sri Lanka was specifically a human rights investigation and not a criminal investigation.
He explained that the language of the US resolution must contain clear language that the people of Sri Lanka find respectful.
Ambassador Aryasinha kicked off his remarks by noting that his delegation’s participation in the informal consultations on the draft resolution was a “clear departure” from Sri Lanka’s previous positions on US-sponsored resolutions. Sri Lanka’s Head of Mission said his delegation was attending the session to “engage constructively in the discussions…in a collaborative spirit to reach a consensus on this resolution.”
Noting that Sri Lanka was following a clearly different path to what was followed pre-January 8, 2015 the Sri Lankan Envoy said the Government’s expectation was that there would be “similar change in the tone, tenor and even the strategy” on the part of the Council.
The first informal consultation on the US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka took place in Room XXIII of the Palais des Nations, at 10.00 a.m. yesterday. The resolution is expected to be tabled at the Human Rights Council on Thursday (24) ahead of the deadline.
The informal session was chaired by the United States Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Keith Harper, while core group member states UK, Macedonia and Montenegro also sat at the head table.
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap, who is in Geneva for consultations this week, also attended the informal session on the Sri Lanka resolution. Ambassador Keshap met with delegations in the core group of sponsors of the Sri Lanka resolution yesterday and will consult with other member states during his visit.
Hectic backroom consultations and lobbying commenced inside the UN building in Geneva soon after the informal session ended. Sections of the international community are strongly urging the main sponsors of the resolution to water down the document’s language, lest it creates a backlash in Colombo, with nationalist forces mobilising support against international interference.
These diplomatic envoys argue that the new Government in Sri Lanka could be weakened by forces aligned to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his close allies, if intrusive language is included in the draft resolution, Daily FT learns.
While some groups and interested member states are urging the inclusion of High Commissioner Zeid’s language in the resolution, specifically relating to a “hybrid special court”, Daily FT learns that this insertion is highly improbable ahead of the tabling of the draft.
Highly placed diplomatic sources told Daily FT that the Government of Sri Lanka is seeking a draft resolution that is realistic and can be implemented in the country without major political opposition. The Government must be able to pass statutes without huge Opposition in Parliament in order to be able to implement any of its own proposals or recommendations in the resolution, the sources explained.
