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US presents new UNHRC resolution on Sri Lankan human rights

The United States, with Britain, Montenegro, Macedonia and Mauritius as co-signatories, has presented another resolution on human right violations by the Sri Lankan government to the current UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting in Geneva.

This is the third resolution sponsored by Washington in three years, and it contains some additional clauses to those passed previously.

Like previous US-sponsored UNHRC resolutions, the draft requests the Sri Lankan government to implement its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission recommendations. This commission, appointed by Rajapakse, whitewashed the war crimes, and made limited proposals for the devolution of powers to the Tamil dominated island’s north and east and for the disarming of paramilitary forces.

To increase the pressure on Rajapakse, the US is exploiting his government’s alleged involvement in ongoing attacks on journalists and instigation of Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinist organisations against minority religious communities. The resolution calls for investigation of assaults on places of worships and journalists.

The resolution also calls for the release of an inquiry report on the army’s shooting of protesters in Weliweriya on August 1. Three people were killed when the military fired on demonstrators, who were reporetedly  demanding a clean water supply.

In addition, the resolution calls for the provision of the “resources and authority necessary to govern” to the Northern Provincial Council. The Rajapakse government has effectively blocked funding to the council, which has no police and land powers under the country’s constitution.

In a significant step-up from earlier resolutions, the draft calls for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “to investigate alleged violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes” in Sri Lanka. It also “welcomes” a report by UN Human Rights Commissioner Navanethem Pillay that proposed “an independent and credible international investigation in the absence of a credible national process.”

The Commissioner’s office is instructed to present an oral report for the UNHRC’s next session in September and a comprehensive report to next March’s annual meeting. This is a warning that if the government fails to implement the resolution’s recommendations, an “international investigation” could be triggered.

After possible amendments, the resolution will be presented for a vote at the end of March.

On February 26, US Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a further threat to Colombo. Releasing the State Department’s annual human rights report for 2013, Kerry referred to Sri Lanka and insisted on a probe into its violations. “We will do it in Sri Lanka, where the government still has not answered basic demands for accountability and reconciliation,” he declared.

The State Department report lists human right violations in Sri Lanka and notes the dominance of Rajapakse’s family in the government, commenting: “Two of the president’s brothers hold key executive branch posts, as defence secretary and economic development minister, and a third brother is the speaker of Parliament.”

Putting ip a brave face in Geneva, Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris condemned the High Commissioner’s report and the US resolution. As the Rajapakse government has done since 2009, Peiris flatly denied all war crimes allegations and rejected any independent investigation.

Addressing foreign correspondents in Colombo last week, Rajapakse said: “We are uncomfortable with the whole resolution … there should not be a resolution at all.”   The government and sections of Colombo media have resurrected accusations of a LTTE project to “divide the country.”

Writing in the Colombo Telegraph, Dayan Jayatilake, a former Sri Lankan envoy to UNHRC, asked the government not to “reject the draft [resolution] out of hand” and “fall into the trap set for this country.” He continued: “The US-UK call at this point of time is for us to clean up our act. Sri Lanka would be a better place if the government constructively engaged and cooperated with this call.”


 –Poreg desk with inputs from Panini Wijesiriwardena

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