Human Rights watch urged Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, to press Sri Lanka on human rights abuses and make it a priority during the meeting due to take place tomorrow.
HRW's Asia Director, Brad Adams said:
“The UN rights chief decried a worsening situation in Sri Lanka and listed past and present problems that contradict official ‘Commonwealth values,’”“The Commonwealth should not bury its head in the sand and ignore Sri Lanka’s serious human rights problems.”
“Commonwealth ministers should at least be willing to hear an independent account of the situation in Sri Lanka,”
“Why haven’t they invited Pillay to their September 27 meeting?”
“The Commonwealth does itself a disservice by ignoring wartime atrocities and growing authoritarian rule in Sri Lanka, which challenge the Commonwealth’s purpose and identity,”
“The CMAG meeting is an important opportunity to finally address rights issues in Sri Lanka and agree to a course of action. In this way the Commonwealth can make a genuine contribution to promoting the welfare of its citizens.”
See full statement by HRW here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
