Author: TELO Admin

A meeting focusing on future political agendas is believed to have taken place between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the National Organiser of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Basil Rakapaksa, as per political sources.

The duo are believed to have discussed several matters of concern, including the country’s political agenda for the future, the upcoming budget, and providing of relief, for nearly one hour, political sources claimed.

The two parties had not met since of late, after President Wickrmesinghe reportedly did not respond fairly to a request made, seeking ministerial portfolios for a group of SLPP MPs.

Accountability is central to secure Sri Lanka’s present and future, said Nada Al-Nashif, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday (11).

“While it remains the obligation of the Sri Lankan authorities to acknowledge past violations and undertake credible accountability measures, this Council and the Member States can play an important and complementary role in advancing accountability,” she said during the 54th session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

She said that delays in holding local government elections and in reconstituting Provincial Councils under the 13th amendment have limited people’s right to political participation and the free expression of voters.

She said that the Government economic recovery policies should be guided by its obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to protect the most vulnerable.

The international community, including international financial institutions, should keep supporting Sri Lanka in its recovery, in line with obligations around international cooperation and assistance, by providing the fiscal space needed while pressing for genuine progress in governance, transparency and accountability, she said.

She went on to note that the measures restricting the right to protest will only generate more tension in the country as they prevent people from expressing their grievances and engaging in critical debate.

Truth-seeking alone will not be sufficient and must be accompanied by a clear commitment to accountability, including through an independent ad hoc special court, she said.

She said that the High Commissioner has repeatedly recommended the Government of Sri Lanka to establish a follow-up, independent and transparent investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks with international assistance and the full participation of victims and their representatives.

“The report provides an analysis of concerns with some forthcoming legislation, in particular the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill that will replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the new law to regulate media broadcasting. It urges a moratorium on the use of the PTA in the meantime, and for the review of long-standing PTA cases to be expedited,” she added.

Statement on report of OHCHR on promoting reconciliation, accountability & human rights in Sri Lanka. Delivered by UK Ambassador to the WTO & UN Simon Manley.

Thank you Madam Vice President,

Deputy-High Commissioner, let me thank you for your report and update.

The UK welcomes Sri Lanka’s initial commitments to implement devolution in line with the constitution, to address land issues, and to advance governance legislation. It is important that these commitments are matched by tangible progress on the ground.

We also note longstanding commitments to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and urge the Government to ensure terrorism legislation is consistent with Sri Lanka’s international obligations. We encourage too the further release of long-term detainees.

We call on Sri Lanka to safeguard the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and to freedom of expression. The right to freedom of religion or belief must be respected, and communities must be allowed to remember their loved ones.

The discovery of another mass grave [in Mullaitivu] highlights the urgent need for an adequately resourced, independent, and transparent approach to dealing with the past.

Justice, accountability, and reconciliation are at the heart of our approach and we hope in Sri Lankans. We acknowledge commitments to make progress in transitional justice and urge Sri Lanka to ensure any process carries the support of victim communities, builds upon past recommendations, and meets international standards.

Thank you.

Published 11 September 2023

The UN human rights office has been approached by State authorities from various countries for information on 10 Sri Lankans accused of committing human rights abuses.

While noting the Government’s rejection of resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif noted that an accountability project was established by her Office to collect, consolidate, analyze, and preserve relevant information and evidence and provide support to relevant judicial and other proceedings, including those in Member States, with competent jurisdiction.

She told the UN Human Rights Council today that the project is receiving a steady increase in requests from competent State authorities, including in relation to 10 named individuals to date.

“The project has made significant progress in developing a repository of information and evidence and based on identified gaps and priorities for further investigations. It is also actively engaging with civil society, including victims’ representatives,” she told the Council as it commenced its 54th Session in Geneva today.

The Deputy High Commissioner said that accountability is central to secure Sri Lanka’s present and future.

“While it remains the obligation of the Sri Lankan authorities to acknowledge past violations and undertake credible accountability measures, this Council and Member States can play an important and complementary role in advancing accountability,” she added.

The Deputy High Commissioner said that her office remains committed to supporting the Government and people of Sri Lanka in advancing reconciliation, and accountability as well as the full enjoyment of human rights.

She also noted that the economic hardship, tensions around economic and structural reform policies and the delay of local elections continue to give rise to protests. Land acquisition in the north and east for expansion of military installations, Buddhist heritage conservation at Hindu or Muslim sites, and forestry protection has also escalated tensions.

“Our Office continues to receive cases of misuse of tear gas and water cannons during demonstrations, affecting protestors and media personnel. Initiatives by victims to memorialise their loved ones have also been obstructed,” she said.

The Deputy High Commissioner said that the measures restricting the right to protest will only generate more tension in the country as they prevent people from expressing their grievances and engaging in critical debate.

Responding to the oral report on Sri Lanka at the first meeting of the 54th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Sri Lanka has rejected the report and its recommendations, claiming that is does not reflect the actual situation in Sri Lanka, and instead gravely distorted and misinterpreted the ground situation within the country.

Speaking further in this regard, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka noted that it is “regrettable” that the Office of the Human Commissioner of Human Rights (OCHCR) has “chosen to ignore the democratic resilience of the country and its institutions demonstrated in the past year”.

She stated that Sri Lanka remains deeply concerned about the ever-increasing mandate of the OCHCR, in making sweeping and intrusive comments on all aspects of economic, financial, political, electoral, domestic, budgetary and development policies, adding that the nation strongly objects to “pronouncements on policy matters that are essentially domestic for any sovereign country and are outside the framework of this council”.

Albeit the UN report’s claims that Sri Lanka’s economic recovery is yet to materialize one year after the country’s turbulent anti-government protests and its most severe economic crisis, Arunatilaka highlighted that those who are mandated and possess the required expertise, both domestically and internationally, remain confident in Sri Lanka’s prospects.

Commenting on the report’s references to targeted sanctions, the diplomat stated that Sri Lanka rejects all such references, which are “based on incorrect and unsubstantiated sources, contravening the process of natural justice of universality, impartiality objectivity and non-selectivity”, emphasising Sri Lanka’s commitment towards pursuing tangible mechanisms on human rights through our domestic institutions, having made significant progress in this regard.

Speaking further on these said mechanisms, she pointed out that certain independent domestic mechanisms have made tangible progress, citing the Office on Missing Persons, Office for Repatriations and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation as examples of this said progress.

Moreover, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka highlighted other such examples, including the Anti-Corruption Act which strengthened the financial and functional independence of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Corruption or Bribery (CIABOC), and the ongoing deliberations pertaining to the Anti-Terrorism Bill with the aim of bringing it in line with international standards.

Thus, rejecting all recommendations and conclusions put forward by the UN report in concern, Sri Lanka urged that the written observations submitted countering the report also be given “equal visibility” as the OHCHR report.

Meanwhile, commenting on UN Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, which have repeatedly been rejected by Sri Lanka, Arunatilaka asserted that the nation vehemently refuses to cooperate with the resolution in question, deeming them ‘intrusive and polarising’.

“We recall that the majority of member states either opposed or abstained from voting on these resolutions in fundamental disagreement with their unacceptable content, in particular the so-called evidence gathering mechanism, the establishment of which remains unprecedented”, the diplomat said in this regard.

Speaking further on Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, Arunatilaka characterized them to be ‘intrusive and polarizing’, adding that they are upheld only by a handful of countries for reasons “unrelated to human rights and based on their vote-bank domestic politics”.

Highlighting that Sri Lanka has repeatedly pointed out that this is an “unproductive and unhelpful drain on the resources of the council and its member,” she stated that Sri Lanka will not cooperate with it.

Arunatilaka noted, however, that the nation will continue to engage constructively with other mechanisms of the council which have proved productive to the people of Sri Lanka, such as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.