Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) called on the UN Human Rights Council for the “swift and decisive creation of international independent investigative body for Sri Lanka,” in a statement delivered at the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council yesterday.
Delivering the statement, LRWC board member Harini Sivalingam, stated “We deplore Sri Lanka’s lack of effort to implement Council recommendations to strengthen accountability mechanisms for past violations. Transitional justice has not only been stalled but reversed.”
Harini Sivalingam also went on to highlight the “lack of progress in investigations,” stating, “Families of the disappeared have been waiting more than 12 years for answers about their loved ones – they have received no justice or accountability. We are also alarmed at increasing threats and harassment of human rights defenders.”
In their statement, the LRWC called on the UNHRC to;
(1) “Seek referral of the situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court”
(2) “Urge States to exercize universal jurisdiction within their national courts for prosecution of international crimes committed in Sri Lanka.”
The group also touched on the situation in Afghanistan, calling for an international investigative mechanism, after stating, “The Taliban is increasingly violating human rights, including extrajudicial killings, beatings, arbitrary detentions, and use of live ammunition, batons and whips to disperse peaceful protests of women and defenders.”
The European Union delegation also spoke at the UNHRC session and also expressed regret that Sri Lanka "no longer supports the UN framework to address the legacy of the past conflict" and highlighted the need for reconciliation and accountability.
Read LRWC's full statement here.
