Category: News

Sri Lanka rejected Friday’s UN report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) calling for accountability for enforced disappearances, stating such a report has not been mandated by the UN Human Rights Council.

It also questioned the timing of the report on the eve of the May 18 end of the armed conflict with the LTTE in 2009.

On Friday, the OHCHR issued a 45-page report titled ‘Accountability for Enforced Disappearances in Sri Lanka’, referring to the “continuing accountability deficit in Sri Lanka” and calling for “renewed action” at the domestic level to hold it to account through criminal justice and other relevant processes. The report calls for the international community to be engaged with Sri Lanka on this issue and for the instigation of investigations and prosecutions using universal jurisdiction or other bases of jurisdiction and the need for targeted sanctions.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman told the Sunday Times that the timing of the report seemed to politicise the entire issue of allegations of enforced disappearances.

He said UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk was not mandated by any UN member-state to issue such an “unsubstantiated, vague and biased” report against senior security and defence officials. “There is no resolution on the issuance of such a report,” he added.

Ambassador to the UN (Geneva) Himalee Arunatilka will be writing to High Commissioner Turk, questioning his unilateral initiative to issue this report and the motive for it when he has no mandate or authority to serve extraneous interests. She is also to speak to other member-states on the breach of protocol by the UN High Commissioner.

The Sunday Times further learns that the report has no author and no number as is customary for any UN report.

The spokesman raised the issue of the timing for the day before when commemorative events are being held in the north of Sri Lanka and in Western capitals by sections of the Sri Lankan diaspora to commemorate the dead especially during the last stages of the three-decade-long armed conflict that ended with the defeat of the LTTE on the battlefield.

He said that this was an attempt by the UN agency to target Sri Lanka “at a time when there are gross human rights violations happening elsewhere in the world,” a clear reference to the human rights violations currently unfolding in Occupied Palestine.

One of the highlights of the report has been that, for the first time, the UN has drawn references to those who ‘disappeared’ as far back as the JVP-led 1971 insurgency—more than half a century ago—and the second JVP insurgency from 1987 to 1989.

While there has been repeated questioning why the UN has only raised the issue of enforced disappearances during the LTTE-led armed conflict, though references have been in general to ‘enforced disappearances’, the formal specific inclusion of the JVP insurgencies, and references to the work of “paramilitary groups” are clearly a reference to the JVP insurgencies.

These come against the backdrop of a recent comment by a JVP parliamentarian that the party, now contesting the forthcoming presidential election, supports the commemoration of all those who died during all the armed conflicts in Sri Lanka. Of late, the JVP has intensified its campaigning in the north, with a May Day rally in Jaffna seeking northern votes for its presidential candidate.

The JVP’s Propaganda Secretary and International Affairs spokesman, Vijitha Herath, told Parliament that anyone who lost their loved ones in the (LTTE) war should be allowed to commemorate them, and “that is common whether it is in the South or North”. He said it was a right that families should have. “We too have lost people; we have two commemorative events to remember our members who have died, and no one has tried to stop us so far”.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said it was “ridiculous” to even try and investigate allegations of forced disappearances of 1971 when the actors were “dead and gone” and that it was proof of a targeted agenda by the UN agency against Sri Lanka.

In a bid to resolve ongoing electoral issues and ensure the smooth functioning of local governance, the Election Commission has urged the government to hold the Local Government elections as early as possible.

This was discussed and conveyed in a recent meeting held between election commission officials and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

During the meeting, the Election Commission also presented the Prime Minister with options for the upcoming Provincial Council elections.

Speaking to Daily Mirror, Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake highlighted that these elections could be held under either the existing system or a newly demarcated system, providing flexibility to accommodate various logistical and administrative considerations.

The discussion also focused on the hurdles impeding the Provincial Council elections.

The Commission underscored the need for specific legislative amendments to the Local Government Election Law, which would streamline the electoral process and address current challenges.

By advocating for these changes, the Election Commission emphasized the importance of timely and effective electoral procedures to uphold democratic principles and ensure robust local governance.

Sri Lanka’s Government must take meaningful action to determine and disclose the fates and whereabouts of tens of thousands of people who have been subjected to enforced disappearance over the decades and hold those responsible to account, a UN Human Rights Office report released today (May 17) says.

It calls on the Government to acknowledge the involvement of state security forces and affiliated paramilitary groups, and to issue a public apology.

“This report is yet another reminder that all Sri Lankans who have been subjected to enforced disappearance must never be forgotten,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. “Their families and those who care about them have been waiting for so long. They are entitled to know the truth”.

“The Government owes it to all those who have been forcibly disappeared. It is critical for these crimes to be investigated fully. These crimes haunt not only their loved ones, but entire communities and Sri Lankan society as a whole”, the report added.

Despite some positive formal steps by successive governments, such as the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the establishment of the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations, tangible progress on the ground towards comprehensively resolving individual cases has remained limited, the report finds.

Between the 1970s and 2009, widespread enforced disappearances were carried out primarily by Sri Lankan security forces and affiliated paramilitary groups. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam also engaged in abductions which the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances described as “tantamount to enforced disappearances”, it mentioned.

Based on individual and group interviews, the report details the enduring psychological, social, and economic impact of enforced disappearances on the families of those forcibly disappeared, especially women. As most disappeared individuals have been male, women have often become the sole income-earner for a family, in a labour environment that poses many obstacles to women’s participation, including risks of sexual harassment and exploitation.

It adds that many women who have been at the forefront of efforts to find the disappeared have themselves been subjected to violations, including harassment, intimidation, surveillance, arbitrary detention, beatings and torture at the hands of army and police. “They told me if I continue, they will cut my husband in pieces or that they will go after my children,” said a woman who is still seeking a loved one.

Under international law, it is a clear obligation for the State to resolve cases of enforced disappearances, which constitute continuing violations, until the fate and whereabouts of those disappeared are clarified, said the High Commissioner.

Yet, most victim families remain without such clarification. “Two weeks passed, then two months, then two years. Now it has been 32 years, and I am still waiting,” said a man who testified before a national commission of inquiry about his disappeared son.

“Successive commissions of inquiry have been created by the Government. However, only a few of their reports have been made public and even when published, access has usually been limited. Most recommendations, particularly those relating to criminal accountability, have not been implemented. Alleged perpetrators, including current and former senior officials and diplomats, continue to evade justice.”

Despite the passage of nearly 15 years since the end of the armed conflict, and many decades since the earliest waves of enforced disappearances, Sri Lankan authorities are still failing to ensure accountability for these violations, it added.

During the ongoing Mullivaikal Remembrance Week, commemorative events including the distribution of Mullivaikal Kanji or Porridge have been conducted across various locations in the Northern region, marking the fifth day of these activities.

What is this commemoration about?

The Mullivaikal Remembrance Week takes place to honor those who lost their lives in the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The week culminates on 18th May, the date marking the end of the war in 2009.

During this week, various events and ceremonies are held to honor the memory of those who lost their lives during the conflict, especially civilians caught in the crossfire.

These events often include religious services, memorial gatherings, candlelight vigils, and the distribution of symbolic food items like Mullivaikal Kanji or porridge.

This porridge is significant, as it depicts the only meal civilians had during the final week of the war, while trapped in Mullivaikal.

This meal is a mix of rice, and water. Some reports suggest that in the absence of clean water, sea water was used to prepare this meal.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday (16), that Sri Lanka’s overall program performance, has been strong.

Julie Kozack, Director of Communications at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) speaking to reporters in Washington D.C., said that the completion of the review by the IMF Executive Board requires two critical components.

“First, the implementation by Sri Lankan authorities of the agreed prior actions. Second, the completion of the financing assurances review. This review will confirm contributions from multilateral partners and assess adequate progress in debt restructuring,” she said in reponse to question raised by News 1st’s Zulfick Farzan.

Kozack noted that Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic policies are beginning to yield positive results.

She said that commendable outcomes include a rapid decline in inflation, robust reserve accumulation, and initial signs of economic growth, all while maintaining stability in the financial system

Looking ahead, Kozack outlined the next steps for Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring efforts, noting that the primary focus now is to conclude negotiations with external private creditors and to implement the agreements in principle with Sri Lanka’s official creditors.

She noted the challenges in reaching a consensus with external bondholders, stating, that the initial debt restructuring negotiations with external bondholders ended in mid-April without an agreement.

However, she said that discussions are ongoing with the aim of reaching an agreement in principle.