Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister briefs
UNHCHR:
Progress on human rights
Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
met with Navanetham Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, at the Palais Wilson in Geneva on Tuesday. The Minister
who was accompanied by Attorney General Mohan Peiris, PC and Sri Lanka's
Permanent Representative to the UN at Geneva, Ambassador Kshenuka
Senewiratne, briefed High Commissioner Pillay, on the progress achieved
in developing a National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights (NAP) in Sri Lanka. Noting that the NAP was the outcome of
a pledge made in 2008 at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Sri
Lanka at the Human Rights Council, he outlined the process to date and
also the next steps contemplated towards finalization of the first draft
Action Plan.
Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda
Samarasinghe with Human Rights Council’s High Commissioner
Ms. Navanidam Pillai, Sri Lanka Ambassador Ms. Khsenuka
Seneviratne and Attorney General Mohan Pieris during his
recent visit to Geneva where he held extensive discussion in
upholding Sri Lankas image in the field of protecting human
rights in the country. |
The Minister stated that the Action Plan would be subject to further
scrutiny and review having consulted political parties and civil society
in depth. The aim is to evolve a consensus document which enjoys
broad-based support across political boundaries, he added. The finalized
draft would then be presented to Cabinet for its consideration and
adoption. The Action Plan is designed to achieve an enhancement in the
promotion of human rights in Sri Lanka.
High Commissioner Pillay welcomed this initiative on the part of the
Government of Sri Lanka and also stressed the importance of improving
the country's human rights situation, in the post-conflict and
post-electoral context.
The Minister briefed the High Commissioner on the emphatic electoral
victory achieved by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and also on the current
progress in resettlement in relation to the internally displaced Sri
Lankans - the bulk of whom have been returned to their places of origin.
The persons who remain in welfare villages under the care of the
Government numbering approximately 75,000 have full freedom of movement
and several thousands have availed themselves of the opportunity of
leaving the welfare villages.
They will return to take advantage of the Government administered
resettlement process, he said. High Commissioner Pillay also welcomed
these developments and expressed the opinion that reconciliation
initiatives should be embarked upon as soon as possible.
She also highlighted the need to address the issue of dealing with
the approximately 11,000 ex-combatants.
Attorney-General Mohan Peiris explained the Government's approach in
dealing with these persons which, he said, was predicated on restorative
rather than retributive justice.
He also stressed that due to the ongoing profiling exercise, those
persons with a lesser degree of involvement in terrorist activity would
be released in the near future.
He also pointed out that a substantial number of persons had already
been released from detention. Issues of access for international
agencies and legal representation for these persons were also discussed.
The Attorney General stated that legal representation for these persons
in particular would be assured.
The Sri Lankan Government's concern was also conveyed on the
communication procedure adopted by the Special Rapporteur on
Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions, Philip Alston on
January 7 this year by making the "Technical Note" on the examination of
the so-called Channel 4 video by the three independent experts,
available through a public statement.
It was pointed out that, in releasing the technical reports
commissioned by him on the Channel 4 video to the media, the Rapporteur
appeared to have transgressed the principles and practices governing the
methods of work of the UN Human Rights Special Procedures and Mechanisms
which find expression in the Code of Conduct and the Manual which
governs the exercise of the respective thematic and other mandates.
The overarching principle relating to the discharge of the remit of
the special procedures is that the member State concerned should be
given adequate time for the benefit of responding to such reports and
that the final communication, if warranted, would be objective and
balanced as it would reflect such a response. Philip Alston, in giving
the Government of Sri Lanka, barely 48 hours to receive the report,
communicate the same to Colombo and elicit a response thereon, seemingly
had ignored these principles.
Minister Samarasinghe and the Sri Lankan delegation also conducted
two briefing sessions for Permanent Representatives of countries
accredited to the UN in Geneva. Ambassadors from Algeria, Bangladesh,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, Gabon, Germany,
India, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine,
Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay were among those who
attended the briefings. A wide range of issues were discussed including
those discussed with High Commissioner, Pillay.
The extension of the Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) by
the European Union, the arrest of and investigation into the conduct of
Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the continuation in force of the Emergency
Regulations, the future of the national reconciliation initiative of
President Rajapaksa and demining, resettlement and the restoration of
normality in the conflict affected areas as well as socio-economic
reintegration of ex-combatants were discussed. |