File photograph.
Britain’s parliament is to hold a debate on the “UK’s Commitment to Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka,” as a resolution on the issue is due to be voted on at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this month.
The debate, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Tamils, will be held on March 18th.
The announcement of the debate comes as the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council tabled a resolution on accountability.
The resolution, being tabled in Geneva today, calls on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to "collect" as well as "consolidate, analyse and preserve” evidence that could be used in future war crimes trials.
However, it has failed to implement UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet's recommendations which call on member states to consider asset freezes and travel bans on Sri Lankan officials credibly accused of human rights abuses and to consider “steps towards the referral of the situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC)".
Whilst the British government has defended the resolution, both the UK Labour and Liberal Democrat parties have called for stronger wording.
Shadow Minister Stephen Kinnock, called on the government to “comprehensively rewrite” the current proposed UN resolution. Leader of the UK Liberal Democratic Ed Davey also slammed the proposed resolution on Sri Lanka stating it “completely fails to rise to the challenge”.
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