Human Rights Watch (HRW) has repeated its calls for a change of venue for the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due to be held in Sri Lanka.
HRW Asia director, Brad Adams said:
“The Commonwealth will rightly face international ridicule if it goes ahead with its summit in Sri Lanka,”
“The CMAG meeting should send a message to the Sri Lankan government that the scale and severity of its abuses violate the Commonwealth’s core values and will not be rewarded.”
“The Commonwealth needs to have the courage of its convictions and its values and inform the Sri Lankan government that its rights record makes it ineligible to host the 2013 CHOGM,”
“To allow Sri Lanka to host the summit without rapid improvements would be to reward an abusive government with an undeserved badge of international acceptance.”
See here for HRW's full press release.
See also 'The Commonwealth faces a clear choice on Sri Lanka' (Tamil Guardian editorial)