Tamil civil societies across the North-East have called for the United Nations to be allowed to participate in a Sri Lankan government victim consultation process (VCP), in order to gain credibility and to ensure a UN Human Rights Council resolution is implemented.
In a letter sent to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, civil society organisations said “the participation of the UN representatives as set out above is important for the credibility of the VCP and for ensuring that the UN is accountable to the victims and civil society for the implementation of the UNHRC Resolution”.
The letter detailed steps that the Sri Lankan government should take, including at least 50% representation for women, the “close consultation and concurrence of civil society actors who are seen to be credible by victim communities” and independent monitoring of the process by representatives “drawn from countries who co-sponsored the Geneva resolution and from international and local human rights and civil society actors”.
The note added “we recognize and acknowledge that the victims of the conflict in Sri Lanka are to be found in all communities throughout Sri Lanka”. “However, the suffering of the Tamil victims in the North and East must be given due recognition as should the structural impediments to them enjoying full rights as citizens.”
The 9 organisations also stated that witness protection should be ensured, with “members of the armed forces in the North and East should be relocated appropriately and evenly around the rest of the country”. “Reduction of the troop presence in the North and East is an important step towards normalising lives in the North-East and is an essential prerequisite for the participation of victims and witnesses if the VCP is to be successful,” the organisations added, saying “the overwhelming desire of the people in the North-East require that the disproportionate presence of the armed forces in their areas of habitation be reversed and dismantled”.
See the full letter and signatories here.
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