OHCHR statement unwarranted

The Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry is of the view that the statement attributed to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to the effect that an inquiry, similar to that carried out by the Gaza fact finding mission, is required with regard to the final stages of recently concluded military conflict in Sri Lanka, is unwarranted and uncalled for.

The statement was timed to follow the issuance of a report by the Department of State of the United States of America to the Houses of Congress, on several incidents during the recent conflict in Sri Lanka, the Ministry said.

The OHCHR statement is all the more surprising since it fails to appreciate that the Department of State reports it self states:

"The report does not reach legal conclusions as to whether the incidents deserted (in the report) actually constitute violations of IHL, crimes against humanity or other violations of international law.

Nor does it reach conclusions concerning whether the alleged incidents detailed herein actually occurred."

The OHCHR statement omits mention of this critical caveat in the report.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed a Committee of persons of proven integrity and independence to look into the incidents mentioned in the report.

The Government will make known its position once this Committee has fulfilled its mandate and reported its conclusions. The Government will thereafter communicate its consolidated position on the incidents to relevant parties. Premature statements of this nature by the OHCHR will only serve to strengthen the belief that the Office is not objective in respect of Sri Lanka.