Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary has slammed a United Nations resolution which calls for an evidence gathering mechanism to be set up and collect evidence of mass atrocities, stating that his government would not allow it to operate.
“We are not going to allow that to be operating in Sri Lanka,” said Foreign Secretary Admiral Jayanath Colombage, as he also criticised a recently released report by the UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet.
“It’s against the UN mandate,” the Sri Lankan official claimed, despite it being part of a resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council. “The United Nations Human Rights Commission has no entitlement to run an evidence gathering mechanism in other countries.”
“We will do everything locally and no international mechanism of that nature will be allowed,” he reiterated. “We have clearly stated to the UNHRC Commissioner, that a country’s internal or domestic affairs cannot be challenged by the UNHRC and it has no relevance to her Office.”
The foreign secretary went on to claim that in Sri Lanka “there is no dictatorship or a military run government”.
His remarks come in response to a report released by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which expresses concern over the lack of accountability for human rights violations committed by Sri Lanka and renewed her call to member states to use universal jurisdictions and targeted sanctions against alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses.
In her written update, UN High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet said she “remains concerned about the continued lack of accountability for past human rights violations and recognition of victims’ rights in Sri Lanka, particularly those stemming from the conflict that ended in 2009.”
“There has been a further drift towards militarisation and an emphasis of Sinhala nationalism and Buddhism in State institutions has become more visible, increasing the marginalisation and uncertainty of minority communities, and undermining reconciliation,” the report adds.
Read more here: UN Human Rights chief reiterates calls for 'targeted sanctions' and prosecutions in new report on Sri Lanka