This week’s vote at the UN Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka has sent a clear message to the Sri Lankan government over accountability, stated the co-chair of the United States Caucus on Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka.

In a statement released today Congressman Bill Johnson said,

“Yesterday’s vote by the U.N. Human Rights Council illustrates the international community’s commitment to the pursuit of peaceful stability in Sri Lanka, and sends a clear message to the Sri Lankan government that the time has come for accountability and reconciliation”. 

Expressing its “full support” for the call for an international investigation into Sri Lanka’s mass atrocities in the UN Human Rights Council resolution tabled this week, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said Wednesday: "this is what we had been asking for, for five years."

"In this resolution, it very clearly gives a mandate to establish a comprehensive international investigation," said Mr. Sumanthiran, TNA MP.

"We fully support the call for an investigation in this resolution - this is what we had been asking for for five years," he added.

Mr. Sumanthiran was speaking to reporters at an impromptu press conference outside HRC plenary room, soon after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had presented her report on Sri Lanka.

He was accompanied by other TNA MPs, Maavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, S Sritharan, Selvam Adaikalanathan and MK Shivajalingham.

Calling for urgent implementation of the resolution, which is to be voted on later Thursday Mr. Senathirajah said any delay would allow Sri Lanka to carry out further land grabs, sexual violence against women, arrests, detentions, disappearances, and militarisation.

Members of the TNPF have called on the UN Human Rights Council to take action to address the ongoing genocide and called for the establishment of a transitional administration in the North-East of Sri Lanka.

President of the TNPF, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, General Secretary Kajendran Selvarajah and National Organiser Visvalingam Manivannan all addressed the Council, on behalf of the NGO International Educational Development, during the general debate on the High Commissioner’s report on Sri Lanka.

Human Rights Watch has called upon the UN Human Rights Council to vote in favour of a resolution on Sri Lanka and support an international investigation into allegations of war crimes.

Juliette De Rivero, Geneva director for the organisation, stated,

“The Human Rights Council needs to step in and act for justice because Sri Lanka has failed to do so.”

“Instead of investigating those responsible for atrocities, the Sri Lankan government has cynically absolved its forces of any wrongdoing and lashed out at those seeking accountability. Passing this resolution will send a strong message to all victims of Sri Lanka’s war that they have not been forgotten.”

The last 2 weeks has seen the arrests of 27 Tamils across the North-East, reported Jaffna-based newspaper the Uthayan.

Arrests are reported to have taken place in Ezhaalai, Sunnagam, Vadamaradchi, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya by the government’s Terrorist Investigation Department.

India’s ruling Congress party has pledged to work with other countries to bring about a “credible, objective, time-bound inquiry into allegations of human rights violation” in Sri Lanka, in their manifesto released this week.

The party manifesto, entitled “Your voice, Our pledge” stated,

“We will work with other countries, to prevail upon Sri Lanka to ensure a credible, objective, time-bound inquiry into allegations of human rights violations and excesses committed by the Sri Lankan forces, during the concluding phases of the operations against the LTTE.”

The Canadian parliament unanimously adopted a motion calling for an independent international inquiry mechanism to take place in Sri Lanka and welcomed the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The full text of the motion, brought forward by NDP MP Paul Dewar, is below.

A senior police officer placed in the Jaffna, today, denied that women and children were being sexually abused in the North East.

The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in Jaffna, Rohan Dias, denied allegations made by the Northern Provincial Councillor, Ananthi Sasitharan, at the United Nations, that soldiers and security force personnel were sexually abusing women and children.

Dias alleged that 36 cases of rape had occurred last year and that those responsible were relatives or residents of Jaffna.

Hours before the UN Human Rights Council is set to vote on a resolution calling on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights undertake a comprehensive investigation into Sri Lanka, the country's President Mahinda Rajapaksa proclaimed it was “unconcerned about the outcome of the Geneva election”, asserting that the “people would win” regardless of the outcome.

The Sri Lankan Presidents remarks came as the country's ambassador to Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha warned that Sri Lanka would reject the resolution, as it had done the two previous ones. 

Speaking at an election rally in the South yesterday, President Rajapaksa told the Sinhala people,

"The Government is certain to win the Provincial Council elections and therefore is unconcerned about the outcome of the Geneva election."

The Official Government News Portal of Sri Lanka further quoted him as saying,

“Betraying one's motherland is similar to betraying one's own mother. Patriotic people never betray or harm their motherland”.

His remarks follow Sri Lanka telling the UN Human Rights Council that it has "consistently rejected previous resolutions" and "would do so again".