54th Session of the Human Rights Council SL slams OHCHR; says the report based on ‘unsubstantiated sources’

• Accountability project receives Inquiries about 10 Sri Lankans accused of committing human rights abuses- UNHR office
• Core Group calls for effective governance reforms in SL

While expressing concern over the ever-increasing mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in making sweeping and intrusive comments on all aspects, Sri Lanka yesterday rejected all Conclusions and Recommendations including references to targeted sanctions pursuant to HRC Resolution 51/1.  
“… as they are based on incorrect and unsubstantiated sources contravening the principles of natural justice and the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity,” the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva Himalee Arunatilaka told the 54th Session of the Human Rights Council  “These Resolutions are intrusive and polarizing. 

It is upheld only by a handful of countries for reasons unrelated to human rights, and based on their vote bank domestic politics.”  

Many countries have already raised serious concerns on the budgetary implications of this Resolution given its dubious mandate. Sri Lanka has repeatedly pointed out that this is an unproductive and unhelpful drain on the resources of the Council and its Members. For all the reasons stated above, Sri Lanka will not cooperate with it.  

In its simplistic analysis, the OHCHR also refers to the challenges Sri Lanka is currently facing in the food, health and nutrition and education sectors as if it is an isolated phenomenon affecting Sri Lanka alone. In parallel in New York, the UN Secretary General, in solidarity with developing Member States in debt and financial distress arising from the current global context, is highlighting sympathetically the severe setbacks and challenges encountered by all developing countries in achieving the SDGs.  
Accountability project receives Inquiries about 10 Sri Lankans accused of committing human rights abuses- UNHR office

The ‘accountability project’ is receiving a steady increase in requests from competent State authorities, including in relation to 10 named Sri Lankans accused of committing human rights abuses, to date, Nada Al-Nashif, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said.  

“Fourteen years since the war ended, tens of thousands of victims and their families continue to suffer in agony and grief as they await truth, justice , and remedy. The report recognizes the initiatives the Government has initiated to advance reconciliation, including its proposal for a new truth-seeking mechanism. However, it also stresses that urgent confidence building steps are needed to create an environment in which a genuine reconciliation and transitional justice processes could succeed,” She told the 54th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday that  

“Accountability is central to secure Sri Lanka’s present and future. While it remains the obligation of the Sri Lankan authorities to acknowledge past violations and undertake credible accountability measures, this Council and the Member States can play an important and complementary role in advancing accountability.  

While noting the Government’s rejection of resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, the report updates on the work of the accountability project established by our Office to collect, consolidate, analyze, and preserve relevant information and evidence and provide support to relevant judicial and other proceedings, including those in Member States, with competent jurisdiction. The project is receiving a steady increase in requests from competent State authorities, including in relation to 10 named individuals to date.  

Core Group calls for effective governance reforms in SL

The Core Group on Sri Lanka while stressing that the importance of effective governance reforms said Sri Lanka still has a long way to go to fulfil commitments to justice, accountability, and reconciliation.  

The Core Group on Sri Lanka comprising Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Malawi, Montenegro, the United Kingdom and the United States encouraged Sri Lanka to turn these commitments into meaningful action and deliver long-awaited results.  

In a statement delivered by UK Ambassador Rita French on Monday at the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Sri Lanka Core Group noted the preparations for a truth and reconciliation commission, and emphasized the importance of an inclusive participatory process in the establishment of any mechanisms to advance transitional justice, to gain the confidence of all affected communities, in line with international best practices.  

The Core Group expressed concern over continued incidents of intimidation and harassment of civil society and journalists, and by the arbitrary use of laws to suppress dissent.  
“As Sri Lanka takes forward its economic recovery, we stress the importance of effective governance reforms and note the recent anti-corruption legislation. This must be accompanied by safeguarding established independent institutions, and democratic processes.”  

The Core Group called on Sri Lanka to work with the UNHRC High Commissioner and his office and said it remains ready to support Sri Lanka in addressing HRC resolution 51/1.a