Heavy Lobbying Underway At UNHRC

by  Easwaran Rutnam

Heavy lobbying was underway at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as the Government sought support for a follow-up resolution on Sri Lanka which will give Sri Lanka time till 2019 to show more progress on the accountability issue.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who was in Geneva last week, met top diplomats from several countries, including the US and UK and discussed the contents of the proposed resolution.

Samaraweera also met the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and briefed him on the progress made so far on accountability over incidents related to the war.

At the same time, Tamil diaspora groups who are also in Geneva had separate discussions with diplomatic missions in Geneva, discouraging them from backing a proposal to give Sri Lanka more time.

Tamil human rights activist S. V. Kirubaharan, who was also in Geneva last week, told The Sunday Leader, the diaspora are making a strong push to ensure Sri Lanka does not have its way in the new resolution.

Sri Lanka confirmed it will seek two more years from the UN Human Rights Council to fully implement Resolution 30/1.

A new Resolution is to be submitted to the UNHRC during the ongoing 34th session in Geneva.

Mano Tittawella, the Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms told the BBC, Sri Lanka is confident it will get the two years it is seeking from the UNHRC.

The new Resolution is expected to be cosponsored by Sri Lanka, the UK and the US.

The British Government told the UNHRC last week to give Sri Lanka time to fully implement the October 2015 resolution.

British Minister for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alok Sharma, told the Council during the high-level segment he welcomes Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s constructive engagement at the UNHRC.

“We must give Sri Lanka time to fully implement the October 2015 resolution and post-conflict measures required to embed stability, reconciliation and justice,” he said.

Sharma later had talks with Samaraweera on the sidelines of the 34th session of the UNHRC.

Also last week the Trump administration slammed the UN Human Rights Council over the manner in which it deals with some countries and also took note of the action taken by the UNHRC on Sri Lanka.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Erin Barclay said that action by the Council catalysed progress for reform and provided technical assistance to improve accountability for past violations in Sri Lanka.

She said that when the Council functions properly, it has the ability to remind states of their commitments and obligations and can hold countries accountable for the same.

“When the Council works as it should, its successes are victories for human rights,” Barclay told the UN Human Rights Council during the 34th session.

The comments made by the US at the UNHRC was the first since Donald Trump took oaths as the President of the US this year.

“In order for this Council to have any credibility, let alone success, it must move away from its unbalanced and unproductive positions,” she said.

She said that in order for the Council to have any credibility, let alone success, it must move away from its unbalanced and unproductive positions.

“As we consider our future engagements, my government will be considering the Council’s actions with an eye toward reform to more fully achieve the Council’s mission to protect and promote human rights.  Building greater credibility of the HRC will increase our ability to help create a better world for individuals in all countries.  Together, by turning our attention consistently to the most critical human rights situations, we can make progress and help this body fulfill its mandate to make the world a better, safer place,” she added.

The United States is currently an elected member of the 47-state Geneva forum where its three-year term ends in 2019.

During his speech to the Council last week Minister Samaraweera said that Sri Lanka has made progress on several fronts over the past two years.

The Minister also said that some elements are attempting to derail the ongoing reconciliation process.

He said that among the notable improvements was the implementation of the Right to Information Act, cabinet approval for a National Action Plan on Human Rights and approval for an Office on Missing Persons.

“Another important undertaking that was successfully concluded during this period, is public consultations carried out by the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, the first of this nature carried out in the country.

Over 7000 written submissions were received from persons from all walks of life, many of them victims of human rights violations who came forward to give their views. The Report of the Task Force is presently being studied in the context of designing the relevant Mechanisms for Truth-seeking, Reparations, Justice, and other reconciliation processes,” he added.

The Minister also said that while taking the allegations of continuing incidence of torture seriously, it is reiterated that the Government maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards torture as also demonstrated by the President’s participation against torture last year.

“Although the National Human Rights Commission has recently indicated to us that there is a downward spiral of incidents, even one incident of torture is one too many. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the Police Commission, the Ministry of Law & Order and other relevant agencies are working together to prevent and combat torture. As in many other areas, this too is an area in which we require technical assistance, and I hope that countries with experience in this area will come to our assistance,” he said.

The Minister said Sri Lanka’s resolve to see the transitional justice process through, has not diminished and with the help of all Sri Lankans in all walks of life, friends and partners in the international community, and Sri Lankans overseas; with patience, understanding, and constant and consistent effort and perseverance; the Government strongly believes that Sri Lanka can make the reconciliation process a success, and establish a progressive and united society, working in harmony to take the Nation towards new heights of socio-economic development.

As was reported in The Sunday Leader last week, in a letter to the Permanent Missions in Geneva, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has sought support in ensuring that the upcoming consideration of Sri Lanka’s progress toward implementing its commitments under United Nations Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 accurately and substantively reflects the situation within the country.

“This includes both progress to date and the significant challenges remaining. At the end of this letter, we outline what we would consider to be the minimum key elements for a credible follow-up resolution,” the letter states.

HRW noted that the resolution, adopted by the Council in October 2015 through consensus, contains 25 key undertakings by the Sri Lankan Government across a range of human rights issues.