UNHRC Resolution and Sri Lanka’s response

The Daily Mirror in a front page news item today states that according to UN sources, the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday will take immediate effect with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) beginning the process of closely monitoring Sri Lanka. 

It says that monitoring Sri Lanka will be carried out immediately with the existing staff while other related work will be implemented once the UN General Assembly approves funding later this year. 

Sources are reported to have said, the resolution is not likely to have an immediate impact on Sri Lanka but in the long term with more than 40 co-sponsors, there could be an impact on trade with some countries and travel restrictions imposed on some officials resulting from the resolution. 

The OHCHR has also been asked to present an oral update to the UNHRC at its forty-eighth session, and a written update at its forty-ninth session and a comprehensive report that includes further options for advancing accountability at its fifty-first session, to be discussed in the context of an interactive dialogue. The resolution seeks OHCHR support for relevant judicial and other proceedings in Member States, with a competent jurisdiction.

The Resolution A/HRC/46/L.1 tabled by Julian Braithwaite on behalf of the Core Group on 
Sri Lanka at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva was adopted on Tuesday with 22 of the 47 member states voting in favour, 11 against and 14 abstentions. The voting was conducted online through Zoom because all 47 members of the UNHRC were unable to attend the sessions in person because of the coronavirus pandemic. The United States, which withdrew from the UNHRC during the tenure of President Donald Trump but returned since President Joe Biden took office, has verbally backed the resolution. 

Heavy lobbying is known to have taken place ahead of the vote with Sri Lanka seeking support against the Resolution while the Core Group called on several countries to support it.

Meanwhile, India, which Sri Lanka hoped would vote against the UNHRC Resolution, abstained from voting. Speaking ahead of the vote, India highlighted the fact that it believed in the primary responsibility of States for the promotion and protection of human rights and constructive international dialogue and cooperation guided by the principles and purposes of the UN Charter in support of such efforts. 

Be that as it may, Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Tuesday slammed Western countries and said their attempt to target Sri Lanka at the UNHRC had failed.

Speaking to media soon after the Resolution on Sri Lanka was passed at the UNHRC, he said the fact that only 22 countries had voted in favour while 11 voted against and 14 abstained, showed that several countries were against this unfair pressure brought upon by European and Western powers.

The minister said any resolution sponsored at the UNHRC should have the consent of the concerned country and without their approval no resolutions could be implemented. He maintained that the government would not give into the unfair pressure brought by the latest Resolution and would continue to conduct a domestic probe into allegations of human rights violations and other complaints during the civil war in Sri Lanka.

“The Resolution on Sri Lanka was moved by Britain and supported by Western powers who want to dominate the global South. Our call as well as the call from several countries was that we need to first eradicate COVID-19.

Currently vaccines have to be provided to more than 100 countries,” the minister said. “Soon after his election, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised the country to withdraw from the resolution which was co-sponsored by the previous government and that a domestic mechanism would be set up”.

However, he said these Western countries still wanted this resolution initiated with more dangerous objectives. The minister thanked countries who had voted against the Resolution and those who had abstained from voting. The minister said the fact that powerful countries such as India and Japan having abstained, only showed that they too were against the Resolution. 

He pointed out that Sri Lanka was able to garner support from Latin America, South America, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and other countries across three continents supporting the voice against domination by Western powers and said Sri Lanka would continue its commitment to the United Nations and uphold its democratic rights. 

We hope Sri Lanka would consider the adoption of the UNHRC resolution as an opportunity to engage with the World Body and together sort out problem areas on human rights, reconciliation and accountability.