Photograph Tamil Guardian

"It is very important that they address these issues, it is not going to go away, as much as they try, it is not going to go away."

Only the Tamil Tigers violated human rights during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, a senior government minister said according to a media report today.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that an international inquiry on Sri Lanka is "warranted" and "essential", as she presented her report on Sri Lanka at the 25th session UN Human Rights Council earlier today.

Addressing the council Pillay stated "there has been little progress in other critical areas" and that "Sri Lanka has not responded positively to OHCHR’s repeated offers of technical assistance".

Speaking on the final stages of the armed conflict, Pillay told the council "it is important for the Human Rights Council to recall the magnitude and gravity of the violations alleged to have been committed". She went on to add that whilst the government has claimed to initiate various investigations, "none have had the independence to be effective or inspire confidence among victims and witnesses."

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha speaking Wednesday at the UN Human Rights Council, as Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, Monitoring MP for Sri Lanka's Ministry of External Affairs, (seated behind) looks on.

Sri Lanka's representative at the UN Human Rights Council expressed the state's "categorical rejection" of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' conclusions and recommendations made in her Office's report, and warned that it had "consistently rejected previous resolutions" and "would do so again".

In a fiery response to Navi Pillay's presentation of her Office's report before the Council today, the Sri Lankan representative asserted that the OHCHR report's findings reflected a "preconceived, politicised and prejudicial agenda which as been relentlessly pursued with regard to Sri Lanka.”

The Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council said that the story about the re-emergence of the LTTE was floated by the Sri Lankan government to justify the heavy militarisation of the north.

Speaking to The Hindu, Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran said the story was “very weak” and that unanswered questions remained, including about the policeman, who was allegedly shot by ‘Gopi’, the individual named by the Sri Lankan government as a wanted LTTE suspect.

“We have been repeatedly asking the government to confine the military in the north to the barracks, but the government does not want to demilitarise the north. This story is only to justify that,” Mr. Wigneswaran told The Hindu.

A number of member states expressed their full endorsement of the UN High Commissioner's call for an international independent investigation into mass war time atrocities, and ongoing human rights violations in Sri Lanka, urging fellow members of the Council to vote in favour of a resolution currently tabled on Sri Lanka.

Drawing on its own history of conflict, Sierra Leone, Austria and Ireland, stressed the need for accountability and justice, for genuine reconciliation. See here for more.

Non-governmental organisations from across the world called upon the UN Human Rights Council to back an international investigation into human rights violations in Sri Lanka, as the council met to discuss the country earlier today.

NGOs including the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the International Commission of Jurists, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, Pasumai Thaayagam, the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, Liberation, Action Contre la Faim, Human Rights Watch, France Libertes, CIVICUS, International Education Development, Amnesty International, UN Watch, the Human Rights Law Centre, Le Collectif des Femmes Africaines du Hainaut, were amongst the many groups that addressed the council, urging it to back an independent international investigation in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at today’s general debate on the UN High Commissioner’s report on Sri Lanka, members of the Human Rights Council drew on their own histories to argue for the need of accountability in order to achieve long-term reconciliation and sustainable peace and stability on the island.

See extracts of oral statements made earlier today below:

Sierra Leone

“[…] from the various accounts that have been brought to our attention, it is clear that the much-needed reconciliation, that would ensure sustainable peace and stability, is not yet in sight.”

"The Sri Lankan government has rejected the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as baseless. The fact remains that the examples given in the report are highly credible and have been endorsed by leading members of the international legal community, including Manfred Nowak, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and Juan Mendez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture."
 

Britain’s Premier David Cameron said today that Sri Lanka’s President has failed to address “issues of the past”.

Speaking to his parliament in the House of Commons, the prime minister said that he urged leaders from several countries to support the “crucial” resolution for an international investigation.

“President Rajapaksa has failed to address the issue of the past properly, so in the coming hours the United Nations will vote on a UK-sponsored resolution for an international and independent investigation into alleged war crimes. At the Council, I secured the full backing of all EU member states for this approach and it is reflected in the conclusions of the Council. At The Hague I urged leaders from countries as diverse as South Korea, Kazakhstan, Gabon and Japan to support this crucial resolution.”