The Tamil Civil Society Forum, a network of Tamil civil society activists including the Bishop of Mannar Reverend, Rayappu Joseph, urged the UNHRC member states to pass a resolution that calls for the establishment of " an urgent, Independent International Commission of Inquiry ". Speaking to the Tamil Guardian, lecturer in law at the University of Jaffna, K. Guruparan of the Tamil Civil Society Forum , said, "The current draft resolution on Sri Lanka effectively calls on the Sri Lankan government to investigate itself. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is merely entrusted with weak oversight responsibilities. What is desperately needed is an international Commission of Inquiry to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law including the alleged crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity ."
Last updated: 12:55 CET Sri Lanka has rejected a report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) “in its entirety” , stating it was “fundamentally flawed" today, in its opening address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister GL Peiris told the council that the recommendations in the report were “arbitrary, intrusive and of a political nature” , stating that the High Commissioner Navi Pillay had reached conclusions in a “selective and arbitrary manner” . The report was slammed as being “based on questionable and baseless material” , after Sri Lanka stated "the references made in the council, welcoming the High Commissioner’s report, even at the highest level of the UN are regrettable", referring to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon .
The Sri Lankan Army has launched a “well coordinated” drive to eradicate weeds in the Jaffna peninsula, reported the Civil and Military Coordination – Jaffna website .
The leader of the DMK, the largest opposition party in Tamil Nadu, described the draft UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka “disappointing” and called on India to propose a separate resolution, calling for an independent international investigation. "The draft placed before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is overall disappointing," the party chief M Karunanidhi said in a statement . The resolution did not mention “Tamil genocide” , Karunanidhi said, adding that many of the “finer details” in UN human rights chief navi Pillay’s report were omitted. The draft had also given Colombo one more year...
Britain’s main opposition Labour party Wednesday called on Prime Minister David Cameron to take personal charge of ensuring an independent international investigation into Sri Lanka’s mass atrocities is established at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva and that it makes “swift progress”. Writing in the Tamil Guardian today , Labour’s shadow foreign affairs minister, Kerry McCarthy , called on the British government to: “(1) Be unequivocal and unwavering in its support for an independent, international inquiry ; (2) Make every effort to secure widespread support for a robust resolution ; and (3) Ensure an international inquiry commences swiftly .”
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalitha, urged the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to intervene to secure the release of 153 fishermen that were detained by the Sri Lankan navy.
The Sri Lankan state's continuing human rights violations post-conflict provided "credible allegations of crimes against humanity against the Tamil population in the Northern Province", concludes a damning 90-page report by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice.
The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in a brief discussion on reconciliation between Sinhala and Tamil communities on the island of Sri Lanka with Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, outlined that India could not confirm its position on the draft UNHRC resolution tabled against Sri Lanka.
Photograph Foreign Correspondents of Sri Lanka Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka led a protest in front of the UN building in Colombo today, against the draft resolution tabled at the UN Human Rights Council
In a damning critique of the draft UNHRC resolution released yesterday by the US, UK and other co-sponsors, the British Tamils Forum said it was " dismayed ", describing the draft resolution text as a " painful slap on the face " to the Tamil victims awaiting justice.