US Congressmen want inclusion of ‘hybrid court’ in Sri Lanka resolution at UNHRC

Eleven United States Congressmen have urged US Secretary of State John Kerry to include the OHCHR recommendation to set up a special ad hoc hybrid court to investigate allegations of serious abuses and rights violations in Sri Lanka during the war, into the resolution Washington will sponsor at the 30th Session of the UN Human Rights Council this month.

“Secretary Kerry, we ask that the US consults with the Government of Sri Lanka on a new resolution to be presented to the Council during this session,” the letter from the congressmen said.

The Congressmen urged the Secretary of State to ensure that the US remain committed to its promises of supporting the recommendations that came from the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka report.

“To that end, we believe a UNHRC resolution supported by the US must include the recommendation calling for an “ad hoc hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, mandated to try war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the letter appealed.

The 11 Congressmen told Secretary Kerry that they believe that this recommendation in the OISL was central to achieving an impartial accountability process that could be “trusted” by all parties in Sri Lanka.

“Over 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final months, most by Government shelling, and as the OISL report notes, Sri Lankan security forces committed large-scale acts of sexual violence and extra-judicial killings,” the letter states.

The Congressmen said the US and the international community now have a critical role to play in ensuring that accountability efforts are successful, and the recommendations of the OISL report will be implemented.

“We commend President Sirisena and Sri Lanka’s Parliament for the adoption of the 19th Amendment and the return of 1000 acres of private land to families in the north, which are important beginning steps towards returning the rule of law and the creation of trust,” the letter said.

Congressmen Bill Johnson, Danny K. Davis, Steve Stivers, Patrick J. Tiberi, William R. Keating, Steve Chabot, Jim Renacci, James P. McGovern, Brad Wenstrup, Daniel M. Donavan Jr, Brad Sherman have placed their signatures on the letter to the US Secretary of State.

The letter is dated 21 September 2015, on a letterhead of the Congress of the United States. (DB)