Human Rights Council adopts a resolution on reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka

Hu man Rights Council MIDDAY ! March "#$ Re%uests High Commissioner to &ndertake a Comprehensi'e In'estigation intoAlleged Serious Human Rights (iolations in Sri Lanka )he Human Rights Council in its midday meeting adopted a resolution in *hich it re%uested the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner ,or Human Rights to undertake a comprehensi'e in'estigation into alleged serious 'iolations and abuses o, human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka)he Council adopted by a 'ote o, . in ,a'our, # against and # abstentions, a resolution in *hich it re%uested the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner to undertake a comprehensi'e in'estigation into alleged serious 'iolations and abuses o, human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period co'ered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and to establish the ,acts and circumstances o, such alleged 'iolations and o, the crimes perpetrated *ith a 'ie* to a'oiding impunity and ensuring accountability, *ith assistance ,rom rele'ant e/perts andspecial procedures mandate holders)he Council also adopted a decision in *hich it decided to postpone the rene*al o, the mandate o, the 0orking 1roup on 2n,orced or In'oluntary Disappearances until its t*enty3 se'enth session4rance, &nited States, 4ormer Yugosla' Republic o, Macedonia and Mauritius spoke in introduction o, resolutionsSpeaking in general comments *ere Italy 5on behal, o, the 2uropean &nion6, Montenegro and &nited 7ingdomSpeaking in e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore or a,ter the 'ote *ere 8akistan, (ene9uela, China, Russia, Maldi'es, Indonesia, Cuba, Montenegro, Me/ico, Republic o, 7orea, :apan, and ;ra9il&nited 7ingdom and 8akistan spoke in right o, reply-

Sri Lanka spoke as the concerned country)he ne/t meeting o, the Council *ill be at .-#< p-m- this a,ternoon *hen it *ill continue to take action on remaining decisions and resolutionsAction on Decision under Agenda Item on +rgani9ational Matters and Decisions Action on Decision on 8ostponement o, Rene*al o, Mandate o, the 0orking 1roup on 2n,orced or In'oluntary Disappearances In a resolution 5A=HRC= <=L-$6 on postponement o, the rene*al o, the mandate o, the 0orking 1roup on 2n,orced or In'oluntary Disappearances, adopted *ithout a 'ote, the Council decided, in an e,,ort to synchroni9e schedules ,or resolutions, mandates and the presentation o, reports by the special procedures o, the Council, to postpone the rene*al o, the mandate o, the 0orking 1roup on 2n,orced or In'oluntary Disappearances to its t*enty3se'enth session, and, ,or that reason, to e/tend, on an e/ceptional basis, the mandate o, the 0orking 1roup until that session4rance, introducing dra,t decision L-$ on the postponement o, the rene*al o, the mandate o, the 0orking 1roup on 2n,orced or In'oluntary Disappearances, said that its aim *as to postpone the rene*al to the t*enty3se'enth session o, the Council, *hen the Council *ould ha'e to deli'er an opinion on a ne* three3year rene*al- 4rance restated ho* important the mandate o, the 0orking 1roup *as- It had done some e/ceptional *ork- )he sponsors thanked all delegations that had supported the te/t- It *as hoped that the dra,t decision *ould be adopted by consensusDra,t decision L-$ *as adopted *ithout a 'oteAction on Resolution under Agenda Item on Annual Report o, the High Commissioner, Reports o, the High Commissioner and the Secretary31eneral Action on Resolution on 8romoting Reconciliation, Accountability, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka In a resolution 5A=HRC= <=L-#=Re'-#6 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, adopted by a 'ote o, . in ,a'our, # against and # abstentions, the Council re%uests the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner to undertake a comprehensi'e in'estigation into alleged serious 'iolations and abuses o, human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period co'ered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and to establish the ,acts and circumstances o, such alleged 'iolations and o, the crimes perpetrated *ith a 'ie* to a'oiding impunity and ensuring accountability, *ith assistance ,rom rele'ant e/perts andspecial procedures mandate holders- )he resolution also re%uests the High Commissioner to present an oral update to the Council at its t*enty3se'enth session, and a comprehensi'e report ,ollo*ed by a discussion on the implementation o, the present resolution at its t*enty3eighth session- )he Council reiterates its call upon the 1o'ernment o, Sri Lanka to implement e,,ecti'ely the constructi'e recommendations made in

the report o, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission> and calls upon the 1o'ernment o, Sri Lanka to release publicly the results o, its in'estigations into alleged 'iolations by security ,orces, including the attack on unarmed protesters in 0eli*eriya on # August "#., and the report o, "#. by the court o, in%uiry o, the Sri Lanka Army)he result o, the 'ote *as as ,ollo*s? In ,a'our 5 .6? Argentina, Austria, ;enin, ;ots*ana, ;ra9il, Chile, Costa Rica, C@te dAI'oire, C9ech Republic, 2stonia, 4rance, 1ermany, Ireland, Italy, Me/ico, Montenegro, 8eru, Republic o, 7orea, Romania, Sierra Leone, )he ,ormer Yugosla' Republic o, Macedonia, &nited 7ingdom, and &nited States o, AmericaAgainst 5# 6? Algeria, China, Congo, Cuba, 7enya, Maldi'es, 8akistan, Russian 4ederation, Saudi Arabia, &nited Arab 2mirates, (ene9uela and (iet BamAbstentions 5# 6? ;urkina 4aso, 2thiopia, 1abon, India, Indonesia, :apan, 7a9akhstan, 7u*ait, Morocco, Bamibia, 8hilippines, and South A,rica;e,ore the 'ote on the resolution, the Council 'oted on a no3action motion on the resolution, reCecting it by a 'ote o, #D in ,a'our, < against and D abstentions)he Council also 'oted on a motion to delete operati'e paragraph #" L-=Re'-# 5Rule # E6, and 'oted to keep the paragraph in the resolution, by a 'ote o, . in ,a'our, #$ against and #" abstentions)he result o, the 'ote *as as ,ollo*s? In ,a'our 5 .6? Argentina, Austria, ;enin, ;ots*ana, ;ra9il, Chile, Costa Rica, C@te dAI'oire, C9ech Republic, 2stonia, 4rance, 1ermany, Ireland, Italy, Me/ico, Montenegro, 8eru, Republic o, 7orea, Romania, Sierra Leone, )he ,ormer Yugosla' Republic o, Macedonia, &nited 7ingdom, and &nited States o, AmericaAgainst 5#$6? Algeria, China, Congo, Cuba, India, Indonesia, 7enya, Maldi'es, 8akistan, Russian 4ederation, Saudi Arabia, &nited Arab 2mirates, (ene9uela and (iet BamAbstentions 5#"6? ;urkina 4aso, 2thiopia, 1abon, :apan, 7a9akhstan, 7u*ait, Morocco, Bamibia, 8hilippines, and South A,rica&nited States, introducing dra,t resolution L-#=Re'-# on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, said that the resolution highlighted that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka had continued to deteriorate, including en,orced disappearances, e/traCudicial killings, torture, se/ual 'iolence, repression to human rights de,enders and 'iolence against religious minorities- )he international community *as also concerned at the lack o, progress by Sri Lanka to ensure accountability ,or serious human rights and humanitarian la* 'iolations- )he resolution re%uested that the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner undertook a comprehensi'e in'estigation into alleged serious 'iolations and

abuses o, human rights by both parties during the period co'ered by the report o, the 1o'ernmentAs o*n Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation Commission4ormer Yugosla' Republic o, Macedonia, also introducing the resolution, said that Sri Lanka had yet to make signi,icant progress to ensure reconciliation and accountability- Human Rights De,enders *ere harassed in Sri Lanka- )he 4ormer Yugosla' Republic o, Macedonia *as committed to cooperate *ith Sri Lanka to implement this resolution as *ell as recommendations made in the report by the +,,ice o, the High CommissionerMauritius, also introducing the resolution, said that it had a consistent position regarding the need ,or promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka- )he dra,t resolution called on Sri Lanka to respect to its commitments, and *ould help the national reconciliation process in Sri LankaItaly, in a general comment on behal, o, the 2uropean &nion, said that despite positi'e elements, limited progress had been made in addressing reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka- It urged the 1o'ernment to uphold its international obligations and implement the recommendation o, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission- It shared concern that domestic in'estigations to date into allegations o, serious 'iolations and abuses o, international human rights and humanitarian la* had lacked credibility and had been insu,,icient- All Members o, the Council *ere called upon to support the adoption o, the resolutionMontenegro, in a general comment, said that it *as a*are o, the need to address accountability, Custice and reconciliation in the a,termath o, a con,lict and prere%uisites *ere to establish the ,acts, and re3establish mutual trust- Montenegro strongly belie'ed that it *as imperati'e ,or the international community to support this process- ;y adopting the resolution, the Council *ould e/press the need ,or necessary steps to be taken and ser'e as a reminder o, past human rights 'iolations that had yet to be addressed&nited 7ingdom, in a general comment, said that it *as committed to supporting long term peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka and *elcomed positi'e steps taken by Sri Lanka so ,arHo*e'er there *as an important gap in those steps, a genuine process to determine the truth regarding allegations o, *ar crimes and serious 'iolations and abuses that took place during the con,lict- It *as regretted that Sri Lanka had ,ailed to take domestic action itsel,, despite t*o pre'ious resolutions by the Council on doing so- In the absence o, action by the 1o'ernment, the international community should support the clear call by the High Commissioner ,or an international in'estigationSri Lanka, speaking as the concerned country, stressed that there *as no urgent situation in Sri Lanka that *arranted the CouncilAs continued attention- It *as ironic that *ith e/tensi'e domestic mechanisms in place, a resolution had been brought to the Council- )he dra,t resolution, i, adopted, *ould not only constitute a serious breach o, international la*, but *ould create a dangerous precedent in the conduct o, international relations and could pose a threat to the so'ereignty and independence o, Member States- )he resolution *as also highly intrusi'e and politicised, and did not gi'e due regard or recognition to signi,icant progress

made by Sri Lanka in di,,erent aspects o, the reconciliation process, or the domestic mechanisms under*ay- In the key operati'e paragraph, the resolution 'ested the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner *ith an in'estigati'e mandate in 'iolation o, Council resolution D"= <# and the institution3building package- In addition to not ha'ing the mandate to conduct an in'estigation, the +,,ice also lacked the capacity and resources to do so- 0ith the deliberate ,ailure to speci,y a time period in operati'e paragraph #" 5b6, the dra,t resolution may con,ine its ambit bet*een "" and ""E, thus completely e/cluding the atrocities and 'iolations o, human rights and humanitarian la* committed by the Liberation )igers o, )amil 2elam prior to "" )he operati'e paragraph #" 5b6, ,urthermore, as presently constituted, *as structured in such a partisan manner as to e/clude the alleged atrocities committed o'er the entire duration o, the con,lict- Sri Lanka *as disappointed to note that a key imperati'e dri'ing this resolution *as not genuine concern ,or the *el,are o, its people but electoral compulsions o, some States at the behest o, certain e/treme elements *ith links to the Liberation )igers o, )amil 2elam- Sri Lanka appealed to the conscience o, the Member States and, irrespecti'e o, the outcome, reiterated that the democratically elected 1o'ernment o, Sri Lanka *ould ne'er countenance any return to armed con,lict or terrorism- )he 1o'ernment *as committed to continue its ongoing process o, reconciliation and national building- )he resolution eroded the so'ereignty o, the people o, Sri Lanka, and the core 'alues o, the &nited Bations Charter, the &ni'ersal Declaration o, Human Rights, and the basic principles o, la* that postulated e%uality among all people- Sri Lanka re%uested members o, the Council to reCect the resolution by 'ote8akistan, in an e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore the 'ote, said that this approach on the situation in Sri Lanka *as counterproducti'e, and that any initiati'es had to be taken *ith Sri LankaAs cooperation- Sri Lanka had a long tradition o, democracy, and had succeeded in putting an end to terrorism- Inter,erence to the internal a,,airs o, Sri Lanka *as intolerable and in contradiction *ith the Charter o, the &nited Bations- An international in'estigation by the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner *as a clear 'iolation o, the so'ereignty and territorial integrity o, Sri Lanka, and had un,ortunate budget implications- I, this in'estigation should be ,unded by the countries supporting this resolution, this *ould be a serious breach to its impartiality- 4urthermore, the time period co'ered by this in'estigation *as unclear and biased against Sri Lanka as it *ould not include abuses perpetrated by the Liberation )igers o, )amil 2elam prior to "" - 8akistan called ,or a 'ote ,or the deletion o, operati'e paragraph #" o, this resolutionIndia, in an e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore the 'ote, said that the end o, the con,lict in Sri Lanka had pro'ided an opportunity ,or peace and security- India *as supporti'e o, Sri LankaAs e,,orts ,or truth and reconciliation, as *ell as Sri LankaAs cooperation *ith the &nited Bations- Sri Lanka had made signi,icant progress in the ,ield o, reconstruction and resettlement- Sri Lanka had, ho*e'er, ,ailed to ensure accountability ,or all 'iolations o, human rights and humanitarian la*- India called ,or an in'estigation o, all these allegations, including on cases o, en,orced disappearances- India and Sri Lanka had a long cooperation history- In asking the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner to in'estigate, the resolution ignored progress already achie'ed in this ,ield- Sri Lanka should be pro'ided all the cooperation it deser'ed- Any

e/ternal mechanism *ould not re,lect the spirit o, dialogue and cooperation o, the Human Rights Council- India *ould there,ore abstain in the 'oteCuba, in an e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore the 'ote, said that it supported the re%uest made by 8akistan on operati'e paragraph #"- Sri Lanka had sho*n genuine commitment to the promotion and protection o, the human rights o, its people- Cuba said that some prete/ts had been used to induce a need to submit the dra,t resolution- &n,ortunately, during this session the imposition o, this and other biased initiati'es had been seen and this *as not needed- A spirit o, dialogue and cooperation *as needed- Cuba supported e,,orts made by the 1o'ernment o, Sri Lanka to press ahead ,or reconciliation and the promotion and protection o, human rightsCuba could not support this politically moti'ated dra,t resolution and *ould 'ote against it(ene9uela, in an e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore the 'ote, categorically reCected initiati'es such as this one- )hey tarnished the *ork o, the Council and *ere most o,ten used against de'eloping countries- It *as regretted that the co3sponsors had simply ignored the demonstrated e,,orts o, the 1o'ernment o, Sri Lanka to comply *ith its human rights obligations since peace *as restored in ""E- (ene9uela belie'ed that the inter'entionist attempts into Sri LankaAs domestic policies *ere unCusti,ied and *ere attempts not based on cooperation or genuine dialogue, the cornerstones o, the *ork o, the Council- It raised a *arning about the 'ery serious risk posed by resolutions such as this one- )he &ni'ersal 8eriodic Re'ie* *as the appropriate ,orum ,or such discussions- (ene9uela *ould 'ote against the resolutionMaldi'es, in an e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore the 'ote, *elcomed the e,,orts by Sri Lanka, adding that Maldi'es respected the so'ereignty and territorial integrity o, Sri Lanka- It noted *ith appreciation that Sri Lanka cooperated constructi'ely *ith the &nited Bations- It *as important that the international community re,rained ,rom taking any initiati'es that *ould ha'e a negati'e impact on reconciliation in Sri LankaIndonesia, in an e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore the 'ote, said that reconciliation had to be undertaken openly and constructi'ely- Indonesia *elcomed Sri LankaAs e,,orts and cooperation *ith &nited Bations human rights mechanisms- Indonesia belie'ed that Sri Lanka had to make e,,orts to*ards accountability and impro'e its human rights situation *ith the support o, the international community- )his dra,t resolution *ould undermine the e,,orts by Sri Lanka- Indonesia *ould there,ore abstain8akistan repeated that the ,unding ,or the resolution *as signi,icant and it *as not clear *here it *as coming ,rom> i, it *as coming ,rom a country that sponsored the resolution, than that *ould taint the *hole process- I, ,unding *as not a'ailable, then no action on the resolution should be taken)he 8resident then read out appropriate pro'isions ,rom the rules o, procedure on the no3action motion- )he 8resident than ga'e the ,loor to t*o countries supporting the no3action motion and t*o countries against it-

Cuba said it *as in ,a'our o, the no3action motion- Bo satis,actory response had been recei'ed indicating that resources *ere a'ailable ,or the implementation o, the resolution, and there *as no doubt that this *ould re%uire signi,icant ,unding, millions in ,act- Cuba supported the no3 action motionRussia supported the proposal o, 8akistan to postpone the action on this resolution&nited States said it opposed the no3action motion, and said that the procedure ,or this resolutionAs budget implications *as the same as ,or all other resolutions- )he main sponsors o, this resolution had organi9ed open consultations and had taken a range o, 'ie*s into account, including by 8akistan- )he +,,ice o, the High Commissioner had the ,ull mandate to carry out in'estigations as it had already done in the past- )he in'estigation *ould be carried out on a time period that had been set by the 1o'ernment o, Sri Lanka itsel,- )he no3action motion *as an ill3attempt to oppose this resolutionMontenegro said it opposed the no3action motion- )he +,,ice o, the High Commissioner had already carried out similar in'estigations on other situations- Montenegro ,ully reCected the position o, 8akistan regarding the lack o, budget- )his resolution had been presented in ,ull compliance *ith the CouncilAs rules o, procedure, and had been negotiated openly- Members *ho opposed this resolution *ere ,ree to 'ote no or to abstain, but there *as no reason to postpone its consideration)he Council then reCected the no3action motion by a 'ote o, #D in ,a'our, < against and D abstentionsIn a separate 'ote on the operati'e paragraph #" L-=Re'-# 5Rule # E6, the Council decided to keep the paragraph in the resolution, by a 'ote o, . in ,a'our, #$ against and #" abstentionsChina said that Sri Lanka had made signi,icant progress in the promotion and protection o, human rights and the promotion o, stability and this deser'ed recognition and ackno*ledgement by the international community- 8eople had the right to choose their o*n path to de'elopment- 58resident interrupts6- China re%uested a 'ote on the dra,t resolution L-#=Re'-#)he Council then adopted the resolution *ith a 'ote o, . in ,a'our, # against and # abstentionsChina, speaking in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, said that it pro,oundly regretted that it could not make an e/planation o, the 'ote be,ore the 'ote- In the 'ie* o, China, Sri Lanka had spent more than a decade in con,lict and had made commendable e,,orts to promote de'elopment ,or its people- Co3sponsors o, this resolution *ere inter,ering in the process o, reconciliation and in the internal a,,airs o, Sri Lanka- 4urthermore, the dra,t *ent against the mandate o, the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner- China there,ore had 'oted against this resolution-

Me/ico, speaking in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, said it had engaged in the negotiations constructi'ely to ensure that the te/t *as balanced- Me/ico there,ore had 'oted in ,a'our o, the resolution, *hich *ould deepen the cooperation o, Sri Lanka *ith the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner and the Human Rights Council- )he nature o, the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner *ould ensure the independence and impartiality o, its in'estigation o, alleged 'iolations in Sri Lanka- Me/ico called on Sri Lanka to ,ully cooperate in the implementation o, this resolutionRepublic o, 7orea, speaking in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, said that Sri Lanka had made important e,,orts on reconstruction and resettlement, *hich had to be appreciated- )he Republic o, 7orea underlined, ho*e'er, that there *as still room ,or impro'ement in terms o, accountability, *hich *as a necessity ,or true national reconciliation- )his resolution *ould support Sri Lanka in these e,,orts- )he Republic o, 7orea called on Sri Lanka to ,ully cooperate in the implementation o, this resolutionSouth A,rica, in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, said that it had abstained on the 'oteSouth A,rica had encouraged Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and had also supported the establishment o, an e,,icient, inclusi'e and transparent mechanism to deal *ith human rights 'iolations- )he people o, Sri Lanka should speedily agree on a process that *ould allo* ,or a meaning,ul political process that *ould bring about a constitution acceptable to all Sri Lankans:apan, in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, said that it had maintained bilateral dialogue *ith Sri Lanka and belie'ed that its continued engagement *ith this country had resulted in a number o, commitments such as to hold the elections, to release the ,inal report o, the 8residential Commission on missing persons, and others- It *as un,ortunate that the discussions on this resolution did not promote con,idence building bet*een parties- Sri Lanka should do it utmost to cooperate *ith the international community, impro'e the human rights situation and achie'e national reconciliationCuba, in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, said that it had 'oted against the resolution because o, its political nature- Cuba *as entirely against the manipulation o, the 'oting procedures and said that the 8resident himsel, had 'iolated the procedure t*ice today- It *as the duty o, the secretariat to ad'ise the 8resident on the ,ull implementation and interpretation o, the rules o, the procedureRussian 4ederation, in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, said that this resolution inter,ered *ith Sri LankaAs reconciliation process- )he resolution *ent beyond the mandate o, the +,,ice o, the High Commissioner ,or Human Rights&nited 7ingdom, speaking in a right o, reply to allegations made by 8akistan that it had conducted torture *hile countering terrorism, reCected those allegations- )he &nited 7ingdom *as committed to protecting human rights *hile countering terrorism;ra9il, speaking in an e/planation o, the 'ote a,ter the 'ote, ackno*ledged progress achie'ed

by Sri Lanka, and recogni9ed the enormous challenges countries ,aced a,ter an armed con,lict;ra9il appreciated the *illingness o, Sri Lanka to engage *ith the &nited Bations human rights system- ;ra9il ho*e'er belie'ed that steps remained to be taken in the ,ield o, accountability, reconciliation and reparation to the 'ictims- International support and cooperation *ere crucial to achie'e these obCecti'es8akistan, speaking in a right o, reply concerning the right o, reply o, the &nited 7ingdom, said that 8akistan had not made mention o, any names and i, delegations ,elt accusations *ere directed against them, then it *as their guilty conscience talkingFFFFFFFFF 4or use o, the in,ormation media> not an o,,icial record