The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) called on the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure there is accountability for human rights violations committed in Sri Lanka, warning that not doing so would be “an undesirable failure the UN system cannot afford”.
In a statement released to welcome the appointment of former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet as the new UN human rights chief, the GTF called for Sri Lanka to continue “to be under the purview” of the UN Human Rights Council.
“In Sri Lanka, the UN system failed miserably in 2009 in preventing the deaths of tens of thousands, mostly Tamil citizens in the hands of the country’s security forces,” the statement noted.
Though Sri Lanka has co-sponsored UN resolutions calling for an accountability mechanism with international involvement, Colombo’s “commitment and will to implement them have not been demonstrated in the three intervening years”, continued the GTF.
“The reports presented by the High Commissioner Zeid and the core group of countries during the UNHRC reviews for monitoring the progress on implementation unambiguously attest to this fact. Frustrated by the lack of will and slow pace of implementation by the Sri Lanka government he argued for the establishment of a specialized court supported by international practitioners and urging member states to act on their responsibility via universal jurisdiction.”
“It is in this context that the March 2019 session will be crucial in ensuring Sri Lanka continues to be under the purview of the UNHRC, with necessary arrangements to address the discrepancies between its promises and delivery,” it added.
The diaspora organisation warned that “any failure on the part of the UNHRC will send a wrong message to countries with despicable human rights record that they can live out a resolution without consequences – an undesirable failure the UN system cannot afford and a major setback to promoting human rights across the globe”.
“Accountability for human rights violations and redressing the grievances of the victims, not just from Sri Lanka but across the world – past and future – will require spirited tenacity and sense of justice”.
See the full statement below.
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