UN slams Govt. on human rights, warns of dire consequences

From Thalif Deen at the United Nations

NEW YORK - The United Nations has issued a scathing political indictment of the government and warned that the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka continues to deteriorate with possible devastating consequences."Any offensive against the LTTE in northern Sri Lanka would have major humanitarian consequences, including displacement of up to 400,000 civilians," says a confidential note prepared by senior UN officials to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"The space for UN and NGO humanitarian operations in Sri Lanka is also under continued pressure from the government which seeks to control relief activities through imposition of bureaucratic obstacles." The government is also accused of "helping create a climate of fear among UN and humanitarian staff in Sri Lanka."

The note accuses the Foreign Ministry of refusing visas to officials of the UN Office for Coordinating Humanitarian Activities (OCHA) "and demanding that OCHA hire government officials instead of our own international staff in sensitive locations such as Jaffna in the northern Tamil region."

A senior UN official told the Sunday Times that visiting Sri Lankan ministers and officials had made promises and pledges but had failed to deliver on them. The note to the secretary-general also blasts the government for "continuing to deny the existence of a humanitarian crisis or human rights violations in Sri Lanka."

"Outside comment on the situation in Sri Lanka, however constructively packaged, is usually labelled by the government media as support to the LTTE while international pressure is diverted through such devices as the establishment of commissions of inquiry which have little chance in practice of properly investigating abuses." The meeting between Ban Ki-moon and President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been dismissed as inconsequential because the President's response has been described as "essentially evasive, sheltering behind the difficulties (genuine though these of course are) of dealing with a determined terrorist movement."

"The tone of the conversations was warm, but there was no acceptance that the negative statements of his ministers and government-owned newspapers have a serious impact on the safety and effectiveness of UN and NGO operations in Sri Lanka, or that they are systematically reducing our ability to help those in need."

Nevertheless, "we should continue to impress on the government the need for them to take proactive steps to improve the working environment, including in practical areas such as visas and the free import of essential security and communications equipment."