Sri Lanka needs international involvement “at all levels” in order to implement a UN resolution on accountability for mass atrocities, said the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR).
In a statement delivered to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, IMADR said that in Sri Lanka “the President and Prime Minister made statements which have created uncertainties and anxieties in the minds of the families of the disappeared and those seeking accountability in the post war context”.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister said recently that the tens of thousands of missing Tamils across the North-East were “probably dead”, without offering an explanation for their deaths, whilst Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed the notion of international involvement in an accountability mechanism.
“It is in our experience that Sri Lanka needs international expertise at all levels in order to effectively implement the resolution,” IMADR added.
The statement also said that “rule of law remains fragile as a result of the decades-long conflict and political manipulation” and the government must “carry out a swift judicial reform as part of confidence building measures”.
See the full statement here.