Sri Lanka faced intense scrutiny at the 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council , as Navi Pillay’s oral update on Sri Lanka was delivered by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, today.
Download full statement here.
Noting the heavy militarisation of the North-East 4 years after the end of the war, the update expressed concern about reports of actions undertaken by the Sri Lankan government to deceive the Human rights commissioner, stating,
“The High Commissioner has identified, however, a number of factors impeding normalization, which – if not quickly rectified – may sow the seeds of future discord. Four years since the end of the war, the military presence in the north remains considerable. The High Commissioner received information that a number of military checkpoints and barriers were removed just before her arrival and reinstated after her departure.”
Disappointed at Sri Lanka’s attempts to credibly investigate allegations which had been of concern to the Human Rights council, the statement read,
“The High Commissioner stressed that appointing the armed forces to investigate itself does not inspire confidence in a country where so many past investigations and commissions of inquiry have foundered.”
The update further concluded that it was the international community’s duty to establish its own investigation mechanisms, should Sri Lanka show no tangible progress before the next session, stating,
“The High Commissioner encourages the Government to use the time between now and March 2014 to show a credible national process with tangible results, including the successful prosecution of individual perpetrators, in the absence of which she believes the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms.”
Expressing further disappointment of the government’s reactions to attacks on ethnic communities, the statement read,
“Regrettably, Government interlocutors seemed to downplay this issue or even put the blame on minority communities themselves, and the High Commissioner heard disturbing accounts of state patronage or protection given to extremist groups.”
Commenting on freedom of expression, the statement outlined unsatisfactory responses, to queries regarding reprisals of people that spoke to Navi Pillay, stressing,
“She raised several emblematic cases with the Government, but did not receive any satisfactory responses. This concern was unfortunately borne out during her visit by reports that people in villages and settlements she visited in the Mullaitivu area were visited by police or military officers before and after her arrival. In Trincomalee, people she met were subsequently questioned about the content of their conversation.”
The High Commissioner’s statement also expressed concern of the weakening of democratic institutions in Sri Lanka.
The statement concluded outlining that the High Commissioner was “ convinced that the continued attention of the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka remains critically important and will be making recommendations in March on appropriate ways it could continue that engagement.”