Geneva: The Human Rights body of the United Nation in its general meeting held in Geneva on Friday (3rd March) tabled a report in which it has alleged the Sri Lankan security forces of committing rape and torture, and directed that the country must fast track the investigation and prosecution of those involved as well as those implicated in past wartime atrocities, the United Nations said.
The detailed official statement of the Unitied Nation pertaining to fast tracking the process of justice & reconciliation so as to resolve and address the atrocities committed upon the Tamil people during the concluding phase of the civil war in 2009, reads as follows:
The slow pace of transitional justice in Sri Lanka and the lack of a comprehensive strategy to address accountability for past crimes risk derailing the momentum towards lasting peace, reconciliation and stability, a United Nations report said today.
“Seventeen months ago, when we published a detailed report on the grave human rights violations committed during the conflict in Sri Lanka, I urged the Government and all the people of Sri Lanka to ensure that this historic opportunity for truly fundamental change should not be squandered,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a news release on the report.
He noted that in many ways, Sri Lanka appears to be turning a corner on the promotion and protection of human rights, but he stressed that hard-won gains could prove illusory if they are not tethered to a comprehensive, robust strategy.
This critical opportunity in Sri Lankan history cannot be missed,” he said, urging the Government and people of Sri Lanka once again to prioritize justice alongside reconciliation to ensure that the horrors of the past are firmly dealt with, never to recur.
This critical opportunity in Sri Lankan history cannot be missed,” he said, urging the Government and peopThe report, issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), assesses progress made in tackling the legacy of grave violations in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2011 and acknowledges that there have been positive advances on human rights and constitutional reform.
This critical opportunity in Sri Lankan history cannot be missed,” he said, urging the Government and peopHowever, the report notes that the structures set up and measures taken until now have been inadequate, lacked coordination and a sense of urgency.
This critical opportunity in Sri Lankan history cannot be missed,” he said, urging the Government and peop“Party politics, including the balancing of power between the different constituencies of the coalition in the run-up to constitutional reforms, have contributed to a reluctance to address difficult issues regarding accountability or to clearly articulate a unified position by all parts of Government,” the report states
This critical opportunity in Sri Lankan history cannot be missed,” he said, urging the Government and peopThe report makes a number of concrete recommendations, including calling on the Government to embrace the report of the Consultation Task Force, to formulate a communications campaign to inform the public about details of the reconciliation agenda, to invite the UN human rights office to establish a presence in Sri Lanka, to give the highest priority to the restitution of all private land that has been occupied by the military, and to adopt legislation establishing a hybrid court
This critical opportunity in Sri Lankan history cannot be missed,” he said, urging the Government and peopThe report also highlights a number of serious human rights violations that are reportedly continuing to occur in Sri Lanka, including the harassment or surveillance of human rights defenders and victims of violations, police abuse and excessive use of force, and the use of torture.
The High Commissioner will present the report to the Human Rights Council on 22 March in Geneva.