Sri Lanka must “demonstrate significant and credible progress” in implementing a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability by June, said UK Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire.
Speaking at a press conference in Colombo yesterday, Mr Swire said “the UNHRC will look at the progress made by Sri Lanka in its June session, and it will be important for Sri Lanka to demonstrate significant and credible progress by then.”
The minister stated that he had discussed the issue with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and they both were expecting clear progress on accountability mechanisms.
“Prince Zed who I spoke to recently, is coming to Sri Lanka quite soon, and he is very certain that June is not just a cosmetic ticking the box exercise,” said Mr Swire. “It is to really measure that some of these long term measures are going to be properly addressed.”
The minister did praise the change in government on the island, stating that it had led to the Tamil North that he visited, becoming “a very different place”. “This government deserves credit for moving very quickly on these matters, but there is a long way to go,” he said.
Mr Swire went on to add the Sri Lankan government is “working on a new Constitution, it has to a deal with the families of disappeared, the legal processes, and deal with the economy during a vulnerable period when oil prices are down”. “But it is a government with huge commitment and huge energy, and it will deliver,” he said.
Speaking at a press conference in Colombo yesterday, Mr Swire said “the UNHRC will look at the progress made by Sri Lanka in its June session, and it will be important for Sri Lanka to demonstrate significant and credible progress by then.”
The minister stated that he had discussed the issue with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and they both were expecting clear progress on accountability mechanisms.
“Prince Zed who I spoke to recently, is coming to Sri Lanka quite soon, and he is very certain that June is not just a cosmetic ticking the box exercise,” said Mr Swire. “It is to really measure that some of these long term measures are going to be properly addressed.”
The minister did praise the change in government on the island, stating that it had led to the Tamil North that he visited, becoming “a very different place”. “This government deserves credit for moving very quickly on these matters, but there is a long way to go,” he said.
Mr Swire went on to add the Sri Lankan government is “working on a new Constitution, it has to a deal with the families of disappeared, the legal processes, and deal with the economy during a vulnerable period when oil prices are down”. “But it is a government with huge commitment and huge energy, and it will deliver,” he said.