GL slams UNHRC report, but friendly countries say Lanka missed opportunity to brief members

The ‘interactive dialogue’ on Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council in Geneva will end on Monday and the focus will then shift to its sessions in September when a new resolution is likely.

Monday’s continuation for less than an hour is the result of the

Council making provision for an urgent debate on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michele Bachelet, who commented on her report on Sri Lanka that was released earlier, said “the past year has seen further obstruction and setbacks to accountability. Victims and their families continue to be denied truth and justice.”

The session on Sri Lanka was delayed and resultantly shortened. It was the because of the Council conducting an urgent debate on the situation in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister, G. L. Peiris, made a scathing attack saying that

the “so called evidence gathering mechanism” is deeply flawed procedure and unacceptable. He said that the Report on Sri Lanka is “intolerably intrusive character, impinging as it does no core functions and responsibilities of organs of Sri Lankan state, overwhelmingly mandated by the people at successive elections.”

In making those highly critical remarks, Foreign Minister Peiris has overlooked the fact that the Human Rights High Commissioner is only carrying out a mandate given to her by the Human Rights Council.

Diplomats from countries friendly with Sri Lanka said that the opportunity could have been better used to brief member, observer countries and NGOs who are drivers of the action against Sri Lanka. “This approach will make it difficult to help Sri Lanka. For instance, the EU countries awaited a briefing on amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with the future of GSP plus hanging in the balance,” said one diplomat.

A statement on behalf of the core group was made by Rita French, United Kingdom’s Global Ambassador for Human Rights and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. She expressed concern that surveillance and intimidation of civil society members and journalists continues.

The core group is made up of Canada, Germany, North Montene g ro, Malawi, Montenegro, United Kingdom, and the United States.