The United States urged Sri Lanka to ensure 'time action' on justice, accountability and reconciliation, responding to the passing of a co-sponsored resolution at the UN Human Rights Council this week.
"We welcome #SriLanka’s renewed commitment to #reconciliation, #justice, and #accountability. Timely action to address these issues will secure a peaceful and prosperous future for all Sri Lankans," the US State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs tweeted.
The resolution was passed amid a number of member states expressing disappointment over Sri Lanka's failure to make sufficient progress over the past four years.
Calling for a time bound strategy to fully implement commitments laid out in resolution 30/1, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, Canada called on the country to "end impunity by enacting domestic legislation that criminalizes violations of international law without statutes of limitation" and "establish a judicial mechanism with special counsel to prosecute violations of international law with the involvement of international investigators, prosecutors and judges."
Read more: UN member states call for justice in Sri Lanka through time-bound strategy
Comments to Sri Lanka by member states came as the country's foreign minister, Tilak Marapana, told the Council that it rejected the call for a hybrid mechanism, as detailed in resolution 30/1 which it had co-sponsored and was however later this week passed without vote.
Read more: Sri Lanka rejects hybrid court at UN Human Rights Council
The OHCHR report said that "virtually no progress" had been made by the Sri Lankan government on the investigation of war crimes, as well as highlighting concerns about ongoing torture and sexual abuse.
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