The UN Human Rights Council resolution in Sri Lanka brings “great expectations” for reconciliation, truth-seeking, non-recurrence and an opportunity for a political solution, said The Hindu in an editorial on Monday.

Stating that Sri Lanka’s “democratic institutions and instruments of governance require a systemic overhaul after having been undermined by the previous regime”, The Hindu said the UN resolution “emphasises justice and accountability for excesses committed by both sides, especially in the last phase of the civil war; on a political process to devolve power to the ethnic minorities; and an overall commitment to strengthen governance and democracy and end what many thought was an atmosphere of impunity”.

Noting that “for some, the idea of a judicial mechanism that includes foreign judges to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of war crimes and other offences may seem to fall short of the international inquiry of the sort they favour,” it added “an investigation process that inspires the confidence of victims to come forward and depose will have to be put in place”.

“Fixing command responsibility for the bombing of civilians and the execution of those who surrendered, especially on political functionaries and their family members, is not going to be easy and must be marked by due process,” said the editorial.

“A fair conspectus of assumptions underlying the Human Rights Council resolution is that it promotes reconciliation and truth-seeking and may lead to a sense of closure for the victims and a possible guarantee of non-recurrence, and that it opens up yet another opportunity for a political solution,” it concluded. “These expectations cannot be belied.”

See the full text of the editorial here.