Sri Lanka is one of the countries where impunity continues, according to former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
Speaking at the second annual N. Sivalingam Memorial Lecture at York University in Toronto, Navi Pillay said, “While international justice decisions show that significant advancements have been made in accountability, there still remain significant challenges.”
“Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and others, are a reminder that impunity for war crimes still continues”, she observed at the event on Thursday. Specifically on Sri Lanka, she noted that during her visit to the country while she was High Commissioner for Human Rights, “even though the fighting was over, the suffering was not.”
The former high commissioner revealed that then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa had approached her when she assumed office and warned her that he was about to launch a huge campaign to end terrorism and that she should not criticise him.
She recounted how she was extremely moved by the stories of the war victims and communities she met, along with their resilience. She recounted the serious human rights issues she saw that concerned her including the prevalence and levels of involvement of the military.
See the full video:
“It is still abuse when soldiers knock on the door of a woman living alone at 4AM and just sit in her lounge,” she said. Commenting on the resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in October 2015, she pointed out that, “the resolution adopted was very weak but it had to be like that to get support.”
“Every step is a struggle and you need to have a strategy,” she said, adding, “it was essential that the diaspora worked with governments” to achieve the resolution they could. She also spoke about the failures and challenges facing the United Nations. “At the very least, if the UN is to make good on its responsibility to protect civilians, it must be resolute and clear about its intentions. Had this been the case in 2009 in Sri Lanka, or now in Sudan and Myanmar, etc, the consequences for millions of lives would be immense.”
Answering a question from the audience about the impact of Tamil Diaspora advocacy efforts, Ms Pillay said, “all your research and your emails are very important. Very important for victims in country because they can’t shout as loud as you.”