Human Rights Council Hailed for Landmark Report on Wartime Abuses in Sri Lanka

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) welcomes the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), which states that "war crimes and crimes against humanity, violations that are among the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, have apparently been committed in Sri Lanka by all parties in the conflict." In particular, the report of the UN rights body recommends the creation of an internationalized court mechanism to ensure accountability for the horrific crimes committed. USTPAC strongly supports the full implementation of the recommendations of the report.

Dr. Karunyan Arulanantham, President of the United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC), stated that: "The report describes the serious atrocities committed by both sides during the final period of Sri Lanka's civil war. It also confirms that security forces expanded their presence in the Tamil heartland of the North and East after the war's end. This militarization was part of a coordinated policy of oppression that enables continuing gross human rights violations that still occur to this day."

"The report's recommendations offer valuable steps to provide redress to victims and move towards reconciliation. Crucially, High Commissioner Zeid urged the creation of a hybrid special court integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and investigators. This internationalized court would be empowered to try war crimes and crimes against humanity. USTPAC strongly supports this recommendation."

"It is critical that the report's recommendations be fully implemented. Tamils and other deeply affected communities will only find such an internationalized court acceptable; a purely domestic mechanism for accountability will never have legitimacy in the eyes of the affected communities, and never allow for reconciliation."

"Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Samaraweera's address to the Council and the government's official response to the OISL report suggest a willingness to change the entrenched oppression of the Tamil community. While we are encouraged by his words, it will take deeds, rather than just words, to begin to drive away the dark shadow that has been cast on the Tamil community for six long decades. The report also urges the government to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. This action would send a strong signal about the government's conviction to fully address the entrenched culture of impunity."

"It is now incumbent upon the Human Rights Council to accept this report and reflect its findings and recommendations within a new resolution. USTPAC thanks the US government for its steadfastness with successive resolutions at the Human Rights Council that brought about the OISL report. We urge the US government to stay the course by adopting ALL recommendations of the Report into a new resolution at this current council session. The road to attain transitional justice and restore trust will be challenging. The Council must steer Sri Lanka down the right path to ensure that its cycle of ethnic violence and oppression is finally put to an end." 

Notes to Editors

• The report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka follows multiple UN reports recounting the circumstances of the war, the atrocities committed, and ongoing rights violations in the war's aftermath. The foremost reports include the Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka (2011) and the Report of the Internal Review Panel on United Nations actions in Sri Lanka (2012).

CONTACT:
Dr.  Karunyan Arulanantham
USTPAC www.ustpac.org
Email
Phone: 517-317-0998

SOURCE UN Human Rights Council