04 March 2014
Britain’s main opposition Labour party Wednesday called on Prime Minister David Cameron to take personal charge of ensuring an independent international investigation into Sri Lanka’s mass atrocities is established at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva and that it makes “swift progress”.
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Writing in the Tamil Guardian today, Labour’s shadow foreign affairs minister, Kerry McCarthy, called on the British government to:
“(1) Be unequivocal and unwavering in its support for an independent, international inquiry; (2) Make every effort to secure widespread support for a robust resolution; and (3) Ensure an international inquiry commences swiftly.”“The case for an international investigation is beyond doubt. The Prime Minister must now demonstrate a personal commitment to ensure the final resolution at the HRC mandates an international investigation. Nothing less will do,” she wrote, adding the Premier had her party’s “full support” to this end.“An international investigation has been delayed for long enough so the HRC not only needs to agree on the principle of an international inquiry, but also on the actual details of the inquiry and its resources to guarantee swift progress,” she said, adding that Labour has been calling for an international inquiry since 2011.“Agreement at the HRC will require strong leadership and personal diplomacy. The Prime Minister cannot delegate this to junior Ministers alone. He made a commitment to the people of Sri Lanka back in November and now it is time for David Cameron to deliver.”
The full text of Kerry McCarthy MP’s opinion is available here.
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