Human Rights watch urged Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, to press Sri Lanka on human rights abuses and make it a priority during the meeting due to take place tomorrow.
HRW's Asia Director, Brad Adams said:
See full statement by HRW here.
HRW's Asia Director, Brad Adams said:
“The UN rights chief decried a worsening situation in Sri Lanka and listed past and present problems that contradict official ‘Commonwealth values,’”
“The Commonwealth should not bury its head in the sand and ignore Sri Lanka’s serious human rights problems.”
“Commonwealth ministers should at least be willing to hear an independent account of the situation in Sri Lanka,”
“Why haven’t they invited Pillay to their September 27 meeting?”
“The Commonwealth does itself a disservice by ignoring wartime atrocities and growing authoritarian rule in Sri Lanka, which challenge the Commonwealth’s purpose and identity,”
“The CMAG meeting is an important opportunity to finally address rights issues in Sri Lanka and agree to a course of action. In this way the Commonwealth can make a genuine contribution to promoting the welfare of its citizens.”
See full statement by HRW here.