Colombo, Nov 14 – Britain’s foreign secretary has called on the Sri Lankan government to investigate the use of sexual violence during and after the island’s protracted conflict ahead of a key Commonwealth leaders’ summit here, the British high commission said Thursday.
International human rights organisations have said there are credible allegations of sexual violence by Sri Lankan security forces both during and after the war, including as a means of torturing detainees in custody to extract confessions.
Sri Lankan campaigners also have spoken about the significant problem of sexual harassment and violence against women and children across the country even though the three-decade conflict ended in 2009, Xinhua news agency reported.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague told a public meeting that it was essential to end the culture of impunity in Sri Lanka that protects offenders.
“The allegations include reports from the UN Panel of Experts that rape was used by government forces during the final stages of the conflict and before. But to date, nobody has been held to account for crimes of sexual violence,” Hague told a gathering of civil society representatives.
“I will be urging the Sri Lankan government to investigate these cases as they deserve. That means carrying out credible and independent investigations,” he added.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is also expected to push the Sri Lankan government to have credible investigations into allegations of war crimes during the last phase of the war.
Cameron, who will arrive here for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), will meet with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He is also scheduled to fly to the former war affected north to see firsthand the post-war progress in that region.
Despite hosting the most important meeting of the 53 country bloc, Sri Lanka has run into heavy criticism over its sketchy human rights record.
Indian, Canadian and Mauritius prime ministers have decided to absent themselves from CHOGM citing concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights issues.
–Bernama
