Sri Lanka: Real Risk of Repeated Violations of Human Rights, Although Not Immediate!
Sustained Efforts for Accountability and Security Sector Reforms are Needed
- UN HRC Chief
Sustained Efforts for Accountability and Security Sector Reforms are Needed
- UN HRC Chief
Geneva - 09 September 2024
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr Volker Turk on his concluding remarks at the end of the Interactive Dialogue on OHCHR report on Sri Lanka on the 9th of September 2024 told the member countries' delegates: "The last point was about whether there could be a return to conflict if grievances are not addressed. It's now 15 years since the end of the conflict in the country and we all hope the violence and suffering of that period will never be repeated.
"There may not be an immediate risk of conflict returning but as the report highlights there is a real risk of human rights violations being repeated. So it's clear that there needs to be sustained efforts for accountability, longer term reforms including security sector reforms so that future human rights violations are prevented.
"Let me reiterate again the strong intention of myself, of my office to work with Sri Lanka, with the people of Sri Lanka, with the new government to help it in its democratic process with the economic advancement of the country. Our engagement has always been for the long-term focusing on the underlying issues that have held the country back from achieving sustainable peace and development."
Pointing to questions and concerns raised by delegates in the dialogue, the UN HRC Chief said that he have identified 6 clusters of questions and answered them one by one.
"There may not be an immediate risk of conflict returning but as the report highlights there is a real risk of human rights violations being repeated. So it's clear that there needs to be sustained efforts for accountability, longer term reforms including security sector reforms so that future human rights violations are prevented.
"Let me reiterate again the strong intention of myself, of my office to work with Sri Lanka, with the people of Sri Lanka, with the new government to help it in its democratic process with the economic advancement of the country. Our engagement has always been for the long-term focusing on the underlying issues that have held the country back from achieving sustainable peace and development."
Pointing to questions and concerns raised by delegates in the dialogue, the UN HRC Chief said that he have identified 6 clusters of questions and answered them one by one.
UN HRC Chief's concluding remarks in full:
Thank you very much, and I would also like to thank delegations and in particular the Sri Lanka delegation for engaging with the report but also for engaging with my office despite the government's rejection of the human rights council resolution.
I have collected about 6 clusters of questions. So I will respond in terms of these clusters and respond to these questions and the concerns you have raised.
The first one is about economic situation and about social cultural situation.
I want to clarify again, how important it is. It is important that my mandate of this office is to promote and protect all human rights including economic, social and cultural rights.
And I should also remark that the human rights Council resolution 51/1 specifically requests my office to report on the impact of economic crisis and corruption on human rights.
And you could see, the report itself has made it clear that the macro economic indicators of Sri Lanka have improved. And we have also highlighted that important social protection steps are being taken by the government. And in the context of debt restructuring and austerity measures, I have consistently called for international financial institutions and external creditors to provide the government with the fiscal space to realize economic and social rights. And this is not just in relation to the government, it's in relation to the international community as a whole. And if you like, it is part of what we have discussed here in this council about human rights in the economy.
The second cluster was around, revolved around accountability and reconciliation in the country.
Dealing with the passed, as we have seen in so many situations around the world, requires a comprehensive approach. The report has detailed a number of steps the government has taken, for example releasing lands held by the military, providing reparations and setting up a commission to trace missing persons.
But the missing link, and it remains a missing link, has been accountability.
The primary responsibility for accountability in all its components, be it truth, Justice, remedy, non recurrent lies with state authorities. It is particularly important to encourage and support Sri Lanka in fulfilling this range of equally important obligations. And it is my office's assessment that there is a clear accountability gap which essentially means a comprehensive investigation and prosecution of past human rights violations that has not occurred at a satisfactory level. And it is important also for those of member states to look at additional complimentary measures to advance the accountability both in their own jurisdiction but also at the international level. These options are reflected in the report of my office through the Sri Lanka accountability project and we remain ready to support such steps which is also why we believe that the human rights council wishes to continue refocusing on what is a situation of ongoing concern and to extend support to my office's continuation of this important work.
The third cluster is around security sector justice system reform in which for our advantage point is much needed. Many of the laws, the security structures, even the security personnel who were responsible for grave violations in the past remained in place and until this is changed the machinery that enabled grave violations in the past can be reactivated again. It creates serious concerns for the protection of victims and witnesses and it also presents concerns for the judiciary, which is why the recommendation in my office's report has been to establish a special court and a special prosecutor to ensure that grave violations are investigated and prosecuted in totally independent manner with specialized charges and staff and with this it is very important that such a strong national process would actually be owned by the society and by the government.
The fourth cluster is around the conditional truth, unity and reconciliation which is currently the relevant bill which was presented to Parliament last week. It's absolutely clear that truth-seeking is clear and important.
But we have also seen a lot of commissions in the past that have failed or amounted to distortions of the truth and too many victims who have been frustrated and re-traumatized as a result.
We have stressed that it is key to create the right environment and any such initiative by building confidence in victims and whole communities and really getting the buying from all stakeholders.
Truth has to start with acknowledgement of responsibility so a properly constituted truth commission would indeed make an important contribution but it needs to be accompanied by what I mentioned earlier the investigation, prosecution of serious crimes, the provision of genuine reparations to victims and institutional guarantees of non recurrence. And I was very pleased to hear the experience that the ambassador the prominent representative of Nepal has just shared and it actually may be useful within the council to have a comparatives look at different transitional Justice initiatives in different country contexts and see how they could also be helpful as examples and where we need a mutually learning process that can take place and may be that's one thing the council could consider.
The sixth area was around the election sense and it's clear that elections that I've spent quite some time on my global update on the importance of elections is an important opportunity as well also in the context of Sri Lanka for political leaders and for the parties to recommit to a new vision for Sri Lanka and to address the concerns of the past. We know that this takes a long time. But it is important for that to happen to ensure that there is a free civic space for political campaigning and debate that is not impinged by violence or restrictions that are imposed on freedom of expression, of association and assembly and we also have seen during election periods not just in this country but many others as well that political parties often make promises and overtures including to minority communities and I hope that's there would be sustained real commitment to these promises and actions that addresses these concerns.
The last point was about whether there could be a return to conflict if grievances are not addressed. It's now 15 years since the end of the conflict in the country and we all hope the violence and suffering of that period will never be repeated.
There may not be an immediate risk of conflict returning but as the report highlights there is a real risk of human rights violations being repeated. So it's clear that there needs to be sustained efforts for accountability, longer term reforms including security sector reforms so that future human rights violations are prevented.
Let me reiterate again the strong intention of myself, of my office to work with Sri Lanka, with the people of Sri Lanka, with the new government to help it in its democratic process with the economic advancement of the country. Our engagement has always been for the long-term focusing on the underlying issues that have held the country back from achieving sustainable peace and development.
The voices that we reflect in our reports are the concerns and aspirations of Sri Lankans themselves particularly those who have been victims of injustices and violence in the past.
And I hope that the council will continue to hear these voices and continue its efforts to promote accountability, reconciliation and human rights for all Sri Lankans in a constructive spirit.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, and I would also like to thank delegations and in particular the Sri Lanka delegation for engaging with the report but also for engaging with my office despite the government's rejection of the human rights council resolution.
I have collected about 6 clusters of questions. So I will respond in terms of these clusters and respond to these questions and the concerns you have raised.
The first one is about economic situation and about social cultural situation.
I want to clarify again, how important it is. It is important that my mandate of this office is to promote and protect all human rights including economic, social and cultural rights.
And I should also remark that the human rights Council resolution 51/1 specifically requests my office to report on the impact of economic crisis and corruption on human rights.
And you could see, the report itself has made it clear that the macro economic indicators of Sri Lanka have improved. And we have also highlighted that important social protection steps are being taken by the government. And in the context of debt restructuring and austerity measures, I have consistently called for international financial institutions and external creditors to provide the government with the fiscal space to realize economic and social rights. And this is not just in relation to the government, it's in relation to the international community as a whole. And if you like, it is part of what we have discussed here in this council about human rights in the economy.
The second cluster was around, revolved around accountability and reconciliation in the country.
Dealing with the passed, as we have seen in so many situations around the world, requires a comprehensive approach. The report has detailed a number of steps the government has taken, for example releasing lands held by the military, providing reparations and setting up a commission to trace missing persons.
But the missing link, and it remains a missing link, has been accountability.
The primary responsibility for accountability in all its components, be it truth, Justice, remedy, non recurrent lies with state authorities. It is particularly important to encourage and support Sri Lanka in fulfilling this range of equally important obligations. And it is my office's assessment that there is a clear accountability gap which essentially means a comprehensive investigation and prosecution of past human rights violations that has not occurred at a satisfactory level. And it is important also for those of member states to look at additional complimentary measures to advance the accountability both in their own jurisdiction but also at the international level. These options are reflected in the report of my office through the Sri Lanka accountability project and we remain ready to support such steps which is also why we believe that the human rights council wishes to continue refocusing on what is a situation of ongoing concern and to extend support to my office's continuation of this important work.
The third cluster is around security sector justice system reform in which for our advantage point is much needed. Many of the laws, the security structures, even the security personnel who were responsible for grave violations in the past remained in place and until this is changed the machinery that enabled grave violations in the past can be reactivated again. It creates serious concerns for the protection of victims and witnesses and it also presents concerns for the judiciary, which is why the recommendation in my office's report has been to establish a special court and a special prosecutor to ensure that grave violations are investigated and prosecuted in totally independent manner with specialized charges and staff and with this it is very important that such a strong national process would actually be owned by the society and by the government.
The fourth cluster is around the conditional truth, unity and reconciliation which is currently the relevant bill which was presented to Parliament last week. It's absolutely clear that truth-seeking is clear and important.
But we have also seen a lot of commissions in the past that have failed or amounted to distortions of the truth and too many victims who have been frustrated and re-traumatized as a result.
We have stressed that it is key to create the right environment and any such initiative by building confidence in victims and whole communities and really getting the buying from all stakeholders.
Truth has to start with acknowledgement of responsibility so a properly constituted truth commission would indeed make an important contribution but it needs to be accompanied by what I mentioned earlier the investigation, prosecution of serious crimes, the provision of genuine reparations to victims and institutional guarantees of non recurrence. And I was very pleased to hear the experience that the ambassador the prominent representative of Nepal has just shared and it actually may be useful within the council to have a comparatives look at different transitional Justice initiatives in different country contexts and see how they could also be helpful as examples and where we need a mutually learning process that can take place and may be that's one thing the council could consider.
The sixth area was around the election sense and it's clear that elections that I've spent quite some time on my global update on the importance of elections is an important opportunity as well also in the context of Sri Lanka for political leaders and for the parties to recommit to a new vision for Sri Lanka and to address the concerns of the past. We know that this takes a long time. But it is important for that to happen to ensure that there is a free civic space for political campaigning and debate that is not impinged by violence or restrictions that are imposed on freedom of expression, of association and assembly and we also have seen during election periods not just in this country but many others as well that political parties often make promises and overtures including to minority communities and I hope that's there would be sustained real commitment to these promises and actions that addresses these concerns.
The last point was about whether there could be a return to conflict if grievances are not addressed. It's now 15 years since the end of the conflict in the country and we all hope the violence and suffering of that period will never be repeated.
There may not be an immediate risk of conflict returning but as the report highlights there is a real risk of human rights violations being repeated. So it's clear that there needs to be sustained efforts for accountability, longer term reforms including security sector reforms so that future human rights violations are prevented.
Let me reiterate again the strong intention of myself, of my office to work with Sri Lanka, with the people of Sri Lanka, with the new government to help it in its democratic process with the economic advancement of the country. Our engagement has always been for the long-term focusing on the underlying issues that have held the country back from achieving sustainable peace and development.
The voices that we reflect in our reports are the concerns and aspirations of Sri Lankans themselves particularly those who have been victims of injustices and violence in the past.
And I hope that the council will continue to hear these voices and continue its efforts to promote accountability, reconciliation and human rights for all Sri Lankans in a constructive spirit.
Thank you very much.