SL rejects UN Human Rights Commissioner's report

The government’s position rejecting the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet  report on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka will be made public at the UN Human Rights Council meeting, Minister Udaya Gammanpila said today,

He said the decision to reject the report has already been taken and conveyed to the UNHCR and will be made public when Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena addresses the session.

Mr Gammanpila told a news conference in Colombo today that only two of the 17-pages of the report have been prepared keeping  with the mandate of  Human Rights Commissioner, and the rest of it was irrelevant.

Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told the post cabinet news conference on Tuesday this year’s sessions will likely be held as virtual conference and the Sri Lankan government will be represented by Minister Gunawardena.

 The  UN report published last  Wednesday (Jan 27) warned  that the failure of Sri Lanka to address past violations has significantly heightened the risk of human rights violations being repeated.

It highlighted what it called  ‘worrying trends’ over the past year, such as deepening impunity, increasing militarisation of governmental functions, ethno-nationalist rhetoric, and intimidation of civil society.

The report urges enhanced monitoring and strong preventive action by the international community, warning that “Sri Lanka’s current trajectory sets the scene for the recurrence of the policies and practices that gave rise to grave human rights violations.”

Among the early warning signals the report highlights are: the accelerating militarisation of civilian governmental functions, reversal of important constitutional safeguards, political obstruction of accountability, exclusionary rhetoric, intimidation of civil society, and the use of anti-terrorism laws.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stressed that the failure to deal with the past continues to have devastating effects on tens of thousands of family members from all communities who persist in seeking justice, reparations – and the truth about the fate of their loved ones.

“I urge the international community to listen to the determined, courageous, persistent calls of victims and their families for justice, and heed the early warning signs of more violations to come,” Bachelet said, calling for resolute measures by UN Member States.