Switzerland has urged Sri Lanka to reform its laws and institutions to allow for the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council during the general debate on the findings of the UN report into Sri Lanka’s atrocities, Switzerland called on Sri Lanka "to amend its Criminal Code in order to fully integrate war crimes offences, crimes against humanity, genocide and forced disappearance with retroactive effect and while guaranteeing their imprescriptibility. It urges Sri Lanka to commit so that crimes do not go unpunished." Switzerland also called on Sri Lanka to "develop a credible transitional justice process with international participation and reform its institutions and its laws."
France has said that ensuring justice for the atrocities committed during the war is essential for lasting peace. Speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council during the general debate on the findings of the OISL report, France said "justice is, indeed, an essential condition for lasting peace," and "the swift establishment of a credible and independent transitional justice mechanism, to which the international community will be linked, is therefore a crucial element to this process." Addressing the crimes against humanity detailed in the report, France said "it is now essential that all light be shed on the responsibility of these crimes, and that justice is ensured, both for victims' families, who bravely contributed to this report, and to facilitate the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka and definitively turn the page on the civil war."
Sri Lanka’s government must implement important recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioners report into Sri Lanka’s atrocities, including supporting the set up of a “dedicated OHCHR office in the country,” said Human Rights Watch on Wednesday. In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council during the general debate on Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch Geneva Director, stressing the need for effective foreign participation to build trust of victims said, “Sri Lanka’s government, through its co-sponsorship of the resolution, is making important promises to all the victims of Sri Lanka’s long civil war. However, effective foreign participation and international engagement will be needed to build trust and confidence in the process, which is necessary for a successful outcome.” John Fisher, added that international involvement in a judicial justice process “must be meaningful and not tokenisms or a façade.”
Human Rights Watch said the proposed UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka needs to be thoroughly implemented and the burden now rests with the Sri Lankan government to honour its pledges. “This resolution makes it clear the time has come for the Sri Lankan government to act,” said John Fisher, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. “The resolution’s endorsement of a judicial mechanism with international participation is an important recognition of the need for an international role to ensure justice for victims.” “However, meaningful foreign participation and international...
British parliamentarians have written to Prime Minister David Cameron to express “concern and disappointment” at the government’s apparent support for a domestic mechanism to investigate and prosecute violations of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka. The group of nine MPs said there was “no reason to pass all responsibility for justice to the national government,” and they disagreed with Minister of State at the Foreign Office Hugo Swire’s statement that the new Sri Lankan government has the UK’s “full confidence”. “Change in Sri Lanka is slow, and confidence in the state apparatus is very low amongst Tamils,” said the MPs in a letter to Mr Cameron. Noting a recent report from Freedom From Torture, the letter said “there has been limited action from the new administration to tackle vested interests in the military, police and intelligence services”. “Furthermore, President Sirisena himself served as Defence Minister in the final days of the civil war, when most civilian casualties occurred. Meanwhile, many of the most senior government and military figures remain unchanged from those dark days.” “How can the Sri Lankan people have faith in a purely national mechanism, when key witnesses still do not have access to proper protection and are afraid to speak out? How can a national tribunal convened by a government whose members are themselves implicated in the crimes be expected to hold the right people thoroughly to account?”
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met with members of the Buddhist clergy and the Sri Lankan security forces to discuss a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on prosecuting violations of international humanitarian law on the island. Government minister Harsha de Silva tweeted a photograph from the meeting on Saturday, stating that the prime minister met with Buddhist monks, as well as with Sri Lankan civil society members. PM, Rajitha, Mano and I met with #lka civil society activists and clergy on the Geneva resolution. Very positive! pic.twitter.com/XJ1KNaMbNv — Harsha de Silva (@HarshadeSilvaMP) September 26, 2015 Mr De Silva further tweeted on Monday that the prime minister had met “all 2 star and above officers of the military and police” to discuss the resolution. Last evening PM met all 2 star and above officers of the military and police on resolution. Champika, Ruwan and I joined in. Very positive. — Harsha de Silva (@HarshadeSilvaMP) September 28, 2015
Expressing concern over the consensus resolution on Sri Lanka due to be tabled at the UN Human Rights Council, North-East civil society groups, trade unions and Tamil political parties, including three out of the four constituent parties of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) stressed that “a mechanism, which is by and large managed and controlled by the Sri Lankan state, will not in our opinion be deemed credible by the victims in Sri Lanka”. Stating that operative paragraphs 4 and 6 of the current draft resolution “do not adequately provide for the setting up of such a credible hybrid mechanism”, the signatories said that they noted with “deep regret that in the interest of arriving at a consensus resolution with Sri Lanka that many key components of the initial draft have been omitted.” The joint statement was signed by a number of civil society groups and trade unions across the North-East, including The Social Architects (TSA), the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF), and the Tamil Action Committee for an International Accountability Mechanism (TACIAM), which led a signature campaign in the run up to the UNHRC’s 30th session in Geneva this month, as well as Tamil political parties, including the TNA constituent parties – the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), the Democratic People’s Liberation Front (PLOTE) and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), and the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF).
The UN Human Rights Chief is expected to visit Sri Lanka before the end of the year, said Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera. Mr Samaraweera said that Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein had accepted an invitation to visit Sir Lanka before the end of the year. The invitation was given to the Human Rights Chief during the 30 th session of the human rights council, reports Colombo Page .
Sri Lanka and the USA on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth $2.6 million on Rule of Law Capacity Building Assistance, Sri Lanka’s ministry of Foreign Affairs reports . The MoU seeks to build local capacity in specialised investigative, prosecutorial and judication skills including technical support on improving legal regimes and operational effectiveness of government authorities responsible for investigating complex and transnational crimes.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said foreign judges will not be involved in a probe on violations of international humanitarian law committed during the armed conflict as Sri Lanka’s constitution would not allow it. Mr Wickremesinghe told reporters that Sri Lanka’s judiciary would have to approve any involvement of foreign judges, as has been stated in a resolution presented to the UN Human Rights Council. Foreign judges can be consulted but not actually involved in proceedings, said the prime minister. The New Indian Express reported the prime minister as stating that “he and his government had saved both the Rajapaksas from facing an international war crimes inquiry by "properly handling" the issue since January”. “It was Rajapaksa's blunder that forced Sri Lanka to subject it to an international inquiry,” he was further reported to have said.