Rule of law:

Terrorists pay scant attention

Sri Lanka’s permanent representative in the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona yesterday said that the assistance for demining the area formerly held by terrorists and the resettlement of displaced people are miniscule though there are parties who hypocritically preach to us about the need for early resettlement.

Dr. Kohona emphasized that the Government has succeeded in resettling more than 90 percent of people within a year of concluding a 27 year conflict.

Dr. Kohona was speaking at the UN Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict yesterday.

He said the resettlement necessitated clearance of uncharted mine fields laid by the terrorists in residential areas, farmlands and roads. “Estimates in my country are that the terrorist group laid around 1.5 million landmines,” he added.

The Sri Lankan envoy in UN urged the UN Security Council to devise mechanism to hold non State actors accountable and not to politicize the protection of civilians when it comes to the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

We should recognize the asymmetrical nature of conflicts where democratic States are confronted by terrorist groups who pay scant attention to the rules of war and challenge conventional armies on how best to protect vulnerable civilian populations, he stressed.

Dr Kohona added that politicization and selectivity that characterizes the debate has affected credibility. This has called into question our sincerity about concerns for the plight of civilians affected by armed conflict, he stressed.

Dr. Kohona said the protection of civilians in armed conflict can not be simply addressed in humanitarian terms alone. He said it required focus and action on a multiplicity of different areas ranging from politics to human rights to disarmament.

He added that the Sri Lanka’s experience in dealing with a terrorist group that used the civilian population forcibly as a human shield to launch attacks on the armed forces should remind everyone of the challenges.

While shielding behind innocent civilians they also succeeded in marshalling the support of their sympathizers abroad to stage massive demonstrations. Unfortunately, too many well meaning persons were taken up by these cynical efforts to garner sympathy, he added.

The Sri Lankan envoy insisted that much of the rules of war are based on the presumption that the parties to the conflict are conventional armies of responsible States but terrorists totally disregard these laws and principles. The practical realities based on the experiences of Member States must be seriously looked at instead of a theoretical application of the norms to all situations, he insisted. He opined that the civilian safety will remain at stake unless we are able to stop its proliferation as agreed by the Council Resolution 1612 (2005).

“On the other hand, external actors such as diaspora communities openly fund arms purchases aimed at destabilizing States whilst receiving support and protection in their host countries and their criminal agents cross international boundaries at will unchecked.

He was of the view that the smuggling of arms in international waters and across boundaries continues rendering such regimes as the Council Resolution 1373 rather in-effective in this area.

“We should recognize the legitimate role of the military in civilian protection whilst we can agree that it is not an exclusive role,” he said.

He added that Sri Lanka believes that the Governments in civilian protection should be respected as it is their primary responsibility to protect their own citizens especially in times of armed conflict. UN and other humanitarian agencies must support and assist Governments and in doing so be sensitive to ground realities including respect for the sovereignty of States.