Lanka Maintains Stand On Resolution
By Easwaran Rutnam
The Government says it will maintain its position on the US resolution adopted at the UN Human Rights Council recently.
The resolution had called for an international independent investigation in Sri Lanka into human rights abuses alleged to have taken place between 2002 and 2009.
Government sources said that, while a formal request is yet to be made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to conduct investigations from within Sri Lanka, such a request, when put forward, will not be entertained.
The Government source reiterated Sri Lanka’s position explained by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinghe that the resolution will not only constitute a serious breach of International Law, but create a dangerous precedent in the conduct of international relations within the established global order of sovereign states and could pose a grave threat to the sovereignty and independence of Member States of the United Nations, which is enshrined in the UN Charter.
Both the US and Britain are pushing for the resolution to be implemented and both countries continue to make statements to that effect. Last week, the United States said it will resume a more comprehensive military relationship with Sri Lanka once the Government makes better progress toward reconciliation and accountability. US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal expressed this view while speaking at the Harvard University. Biswal noted that, while Sri Lanka has fortunately ended its civil war, reconciliation in the island has proved to be challenging.
She recalled that, following the March UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka, the US continues to call for credible efforts to ensure accountability and justice.