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Roundup: UN calls for further improvements of human rights situation in Sri Lanka

Xinhua, September 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Wednesday welcomed the positive steps taken by the Sri Lanka new government, and at the same time urged the country to move forward for justice and better human rights situation.

Earlier on Wednesday the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) published an investigation report showing patterns of grave human rights violations in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2011.

OHCHR was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council last year to conduct a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both the Sri Lanka security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) during the period 2002-11.

The investigation report is based on eye-witness testimony, interviews with victims and witnesses, video and photographic material and an extensive review of documentation, including about 3,000 written statements and submissions, as well as previously unpublished reports.

According to the UN report, among the most serious crimes documented in the report are unlawful killings, sexual and gender-based violence, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, recruitment of children and their use in hostilities, as well as abduction and forced recruitment of adults, attacks on civilians and civilian objects, denial of humanitarian assistance, etc.

"The commitment by the new Government to pursue accountability through a domestic process is commendable ...but the unfortunate reality is that Sri Lanka's criminal justice system is not yet ready," the report states.

"First and foremost is the absence of any reliable system for victim and witness protection," the report said, adding that the other changes include the inadequacy of Sri Lanka's domestic legal framework and the degree to which Sri Lanka's security sector and justice system have been distorted and corrupted by decades of emergency, conflict and impunity.

The report also recommends the establishment of a hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, as an essential step towards justice.

According to the UN human rights chief, this report is being presented in a new political context in Sri Lanka, which offers grounds for hope, and it is crucial that this historic opportunity for truly fundamental change is not allowed to slip.

"All communities and sections of society, including the diasporas, should view the report as an opportunity to change discourse from one of absolute denial to one of acknowledgment and constructive engagement to bring about change," Zeid said. Endit