World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka appeals to UNHRC to reject draft resolution

Saturday, 22 March 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lankans around the world urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to reject the proposed draft Resolution (HRC-25) directed against Sri Lanka. The World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka issuing a press release said: “The draft resolution is in contravention of the basic principles of the UNHRC as enunciated in its ‘Charter,’ including the principles of ‘universality, impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity and constructive international dialogue,’ along with the norms of fair play and justice. The Draft Resolution raises concerns with respect to two sets of issues: first, a purported increase in human rights violations in the country; and second, a lack of progress with regard to accountability, i.e. a lack of credible investigations into violations of humanitarian rights laws allegedly committed during the last stages of the war. With regard to the issue of human rights violations, the UNHRC has an established mechanism to take up such matters – namely the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and therefore there is no justification for a country- specific resolution. With respect to the issue of accountability, the High Commissioner’s report of 24 February 2014 (A/HRC/25/23) that is intended to be the basis of any Resolution adopted in the present sessions, cites two sources of allegations regarding the issue of alleged violations of humanitarian law: The Secretary General’s Panel of Experts (POE) Report of March 2011, and the Channel 4 videos. The POE and Channel 4 videos have not at any stage been tabled officially before the Council and Sri Lanka has had no opportunity to respond to them before the Council. Thus, the credibility of these two sources has never been tested. This is a serious violation of procedural fairness. Furthermore, with respect to the POE, there are allegations that sample letters generated by Tamil Diaspora elements and sent online to the panel comprise a part of the evidence on which the panel reached its conclusions with regard to alleged violations of humanitarian law; that satellite photos used by the panel were manipulated; and that data on humanitarian aid sent to the conflict zone by the Government of Sri Lanka was deliberately under-reported. With respect to the Channel 4 videos, the latest allegations against them involve claims that witnesses used in the videos are “fully paid-up members of the Tamil Tigers.” These allegations are of so serious a nature that they deserve to be investigated. The draft Resolution (HRC-25) in its recommendations, requests the High Commissioner, inter-alia, “to investigate alleged violations of abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka.” It should be noted that the UNHRC can avail itself of the UPR mechanism to address these concerns, because the UPR mechanism is specifically designed to ensure compliance with the principles of the UNHRC’s ‘Charter.’ The UN General Assembly Resolution 60/251 that set up the Human Rights Council does not mandate, the Office of the High Commissioner to engage in any investigation, leave alone “lead” an investigation into HR violations. Assigning such a mandate would be in violation of the UN Charter and would furthermore set a dangerous precedent. The Resolution should be rejected for these reasons. “We represent organisations and individuals in many countries. Standing in solidarity with the great majority of people in Sri Lanka and others who are of view that the UNHRC in pursuing country-specific resolutions against Sri Lanka is exceeding its mandate and thereby facilitating an erosion of international law, we urge the United Nations to advise the Human Rights Council to reject the draft Resolution (HRC-25),” the press release stated.

International civil society calls on Sri Lanka to release human rights activists

The release of Sri Lankan human rights defenders Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan must be met with substantive reform to advance human rights say CIVICUS, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice (SLCPJ). “While we welcome the release of Fernando and Father Praveen following an outpouring of international condemnation, numerous activists and dissidents remain in detention for trying to advance human rights,” says Danny Sriskandarajah, CIVICUS Secretary-General. “The Sri Lankan Government must further heed the appeals of national and international civil society groups to remove all unwarranted restrictions on peaceful dissent and ensure a sustainable transition to democracy and rule of law,” continued Sriskandarajah. Ruki Fernando, of the civil society group INFORM and Father Praveen, a catholic priest, were detained on 16 March under Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) after attempting to meet 13-year-old Balendran Vithushaini who was placed on probationary supervision following the arrest of her mother, Balendran Jeyakumari, a prominent rights activist, days before. Jeyakumari, a longstanding campaigner against enforced disappearances, remains in prison following her arrest on 13 March for allegedly harbouring an ex-LTTE member. She is being detained at the Boosa Detention Centre under the broadly worded PTA, which allows for detention without charge for up to 18 months. Several other activists are currently held under the PTA and the number increased due to a spate of recent arrests across the north and east of Sri Lanka. The arrests represent a continuing escalation of the Government’s ongoing attempt to silence independent reporting on human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. A recent report by CIVICUS, Sri Lanka’s Harassed Civil Society, highlights the Government’s sustained campaign against active citizen participation and its overly sensitive stance on international scrutiny of its record on human rights, including the routine persecution of civil society activists who cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms. CIVICUS, CHRI and SLCPJ call on the Government of Sri Lanka to end its intolerance of dissenting voices and unconditionally release all Human Rights Defenders, including Balendran Jeyakumari. CIVICUS was founded in 1993 and is dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world, especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens’ freedom of association are challenged. The Commonwealth human Rights Initiative (CHRI), founded in 1987, is an independent, non-partisan, international NGO working for the practical realisation of human rights in the countries of the Commonwealth. Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice: we are a multi-ethnic non-partisan group who campaign for a just and lasting peace in Sri Lanka based upon accountability and respect for human rights. We are not affiliated with any political or ethnic group inside or outside of Sri Lanka.