Last Thursday’s resolution on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will see immediate travel bans by member countries on military personnel.
The first to move will be Canada which will name at least three officers, the Sunday Times learns. Others to follow suit are member-countries of the European Union.
The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council on Thursday adopted a resolution on “promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka”. It was backed by 20 countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. Twenty countries abstained whilst seven voted against the resolution and thus in favour of Sri Lanka.
Unlike the previous resolutions, the one adopted last Thursday gives
considerable focus to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the resultant violation of human rights. It deals with corruption and emphasises the need for action against it. It also criticises the government over the handling of protestors who took part in the ouster of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
A new Secretariat functioning under the UN Human Rights Commissioner will probe alleged economic crimes that have led to human rights violations as well as all other issues contained in the new resolution.
Asia (with the exception of Korea) and Africa (with the exception of Malawi) either abstained or voted against the resolution.