Oct 2 – A United Nations Human Rights Council report has slammed the Sri Lankan government for war atrocities. In an initial report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has called for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes. The Sri Lankan government has been evading international inquiry.
Ahead of the Commonwealth meeting in Colombo, the report has come as a huge embarrassment for the Mahinda Rajapaksa government. The report has called upon the Sri Lankan government “to conduct an independent and credible investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as applicable.”
It said “Pillay detected no new or comprehensive effort to independently or credibly investigate the allegations which have been of concern to the Human Rights Council”.
“She received little new information about the courts of inquiry appointed by the army and navy to further investigate the allegations of civilian casualties and summary executions raised in the LLRC report and Channel Four documentaries, and urges these reports be made public to allow them to be evaluated,” says the report.
“The High Commissioner stressed that appointing the armed forces to investigate itself does not inspire confidence in a country where so many past investigations and commissions of inquiry have foundered,” the report said.
“The Human Rights Council endorsed the High Commissioner’s recommendation for ‘the establishment of a truth-seeking mechanism as an integral part of a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to transitional justice’. But the government has so far not responded positively to my offer of assistance,” it said.
“The High Commissioner encourages the government to use the time between now and March 2014 to show a credible national process with tangible results, including the successful prosecution of individual perpetrators, in the absence of which she believes the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms,” said the report.
“The High Commissioner also followed up on a number of other human rights concerns expressed by the Human Rights Council. She was particularly alarmed at the recent surge in incitement of hatred and violence against religious minorities, including attacks on churches and mosques, and the lack of swift action against the perpetrators.
“Since her mission, she has received a compilation of 227 incidents of religious attacks, threats, incitement to hatred against Muslims alone that were recorded between January and July 2013, which will be shared with the Government. There have been numerous other attacks or incitement against Christians and Hindus as well,” it said.
Ezhilan Naganathan, a pro-Tamil activist, said Pillay’s report had sent shockwaves. “She has given a clear report on the present situation of Sri Lanka. She has said about militarisation. It shows how Rajapaksa has gone back on his word. If the Sri Lankan government doesn’t keep up the word, there will be an independent investigation,” Naganathan said.
