Speaking at today’s general debate on the UN High Commissioner’s report on Sri Lanka, members of the Human Rights Council drew on their own histories to argue for the need of accountability in order to achieve long-term reconciliation and sustainable peace and stability on the island.

See extracts of oral statements made earlier today below:

Sierra Leone

“[…] from the various accounts that have been brought to our attention, it is clear that the much-needed reconciliation, that would ensure sustainable peace and stability, is not yet in sight.”

"The Sri Lankan government has rejected the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as baseless. The fact remains that the examples given in the report are highly credible and have been endorsed by leading members of the international legal community, including Manfred Nowak, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and Juan Mendez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture."
 

Britain’s Premier David Cameron said today that Sri Lanka’s President has failed to address “issues of the past”.

Speaking to his parliament in the House of Commons, the prime minister said that he urged leaders from several countries to support the “crucial” resolution for an international investigation.

“President Rajapaksa has failed to address the issue of the past properly, so in the coming hours the United Nations will vote on a UK-sponsored resolution for an international and independent investigation into alleged war crimes. At the Council, I secured the full backing of all EU member states for this approach and it is reflected in the conclusions of the Council. At The Hague I urged leaders from countries as diverse as South Korea, Kazakhstan, Gabon and Japan to support this crucial resolution.”

The doctors active until the last days of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, were forced by the government to deny accounts they gave to media while trapped in the No Fire Zone, one of them has revealed.

Speaking to Channel 4, Dr Varatharajah Thurairajah said that a senior military official told him that his freedom was dependent on him recanting what he told media during the last phase of the armed conflict.

Evidence collected from bodies that were uncovered in a Mullaitivu mass grave earlier this year showed blast injuries, consistent with testimonies that the victims died from a shell attack, reported Al Jazeera. 

The bodies of nine people were discovered in a mass grave, by Mullaitivu residents earlier this year. An ID card found on one the victims identified the bodies of Thiruchelvam Ramneswaram, along with his wife and seven members of her family.

The panel of experts appointed by UN Secretary General to study the final months of Sri Lanka’s civil war today urged the UN Human Rights Council to support a formal investigation the UN’s human rights chief, Navi Pillay, into the violations of international law by both sides they had identified.

The experts, Marzuki Darusman (former attorney-general of Indonesia), Steven Ratner (law professor at the University of Michigan) and Yasmin Sooka (executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa), said in an op-ed in the Globe and Mail:

“While not as formal as a freestanding commission of inquiry like that for Syria, this mechanism could finally provide the independent investigation that is long overdue. It will need a budget and staff sufficient to the challenge of investigating the events of 2009.

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Monday suspended a directive by the Northern Provincial Council’s Chief Minister, CV Wigneswaran, on procedures to be followed henceforth by senior public servants in the Northern Province in their duties.

The decision relates to a complaint filed by the Chief Secretary of the Northern Province, Vijayalukshmy Ramesh, that Mr. Wigneswaran was through his directive interfering with her work.

However, the legal tussle is seen by analysts as proxy for a deeper struggle in which the Chief Minister, who is elected, is resisting domination of the Council’s activities by the Province's powerful Governor, who is appointed by Colombo.

The Australian director at Human Rights Watch has called upon the government to “show leadership” on human rights in Sri Lanka, by co-sponsoring a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, which is due to be voted on this week.

Writing in the Guardian, Elaine Pearson said Australia, which is bidding for a seat on the council in 2018, has been “shamefully non committal” and urged it to use “public and private pressure” on Sri Lanka, including co-sponsoring a resolution.