Compliance not criticism: Pillay

Monday, 26 August 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

UN Human Rights Chief says she is not here to criticise but to address human rights concerns as per global standards
Busy schedule kicks off with first meeting with CJ Mohan Peiris today followed by talks with Hakeem, Vasu and Mahinda Samarasinghe
Luncheon briefing with Colombo’s diplomatic community
Will fly to the north tonight

By Dharisha Bastians Visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says she is not in the country to criticise but to raise human rights concerns as per the standards set by the entire world, including Sri Lanka. However, with her arrival, Sri Lanka will remain under the microscope for a week as the UN’s Chief Envoy on Human Rights tours the former conflict zones and discusses progress made on international calls for accountability and reconciliation with the country’s political administration.

During a brief interaction with the media last evening, High Commissioner Pillay said her visit to Sri Lanka was to assess whether the Government here is complying with the standard for human rights set for the whole world that she said has also been accepted by Sri Lanka. “I frame myself within the human rights standards set for the whole world by all the governments of the world including the Government of Sri Lanka. So I’m not writing my statute. I’m looking at the framework that was also developed by Sri Lanka. So if I raise criticism it is whether they are complying with those standards,” Pillay told reporters. She said that it was true that the Government had invited her some time ago but that she had preferred to wait until the release of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). “When I go back, I will report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka to the Human Rights Council.” Pillay, who flew into the island last morning, will hold a series of meetings with senior Government ministers and senior judges including Chief Justice Mohan Peiris today. The UN High Commissioner, who had briefings with the UN country team following her arrival yesterday, will have her first meeting this morning with Chief Justice Mohan Peiris and Supreme Court judges, followed by discussions with Attorney General Palitha Fernando and Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem. She will also meet with National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara before a luncheon at Cinnamon Lakeside with the diplomatic corps in Colombo including officials from the US, Indian and EU missions in Colombo. Pillay is also scheduled to meet with Presidential Special Envoy on Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe this afternoon. The UN Envoy will leave for her tour of the north and east this evening for meetings with civilians, civil society representatives and the military, although the details of her meetings in the former battle zones will remain confidential. Pillay returns to Colombo on Wednesday for further meetings with External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunge. Her meeting with representatives of the Tamil National Alliance will take place on Friday. High Commissioner Pillay is in the island on a technical mission as mandated by the UN Human Rights Council that passed two resolutions against Sri Lanka calling on the Government to investigate alleged excesses during the final phase of the war, pushing for progress on reconciliation and a permanent political settlement for the Tamil community.