The latest draft of the US-sponsored rights resolution tabled at the UNHRC against Sri Lanka over its alleged rights abuses during the war with the LTTE calls for a comprehensive and independent probe, media here said on Tuesday.
The third draft calls for a comprehensive independent investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
The draft seeks: “To establish the facts and circumstances of such alleged violations and of the crimes perpetrated with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring accountability, with input assistance from relevant experts and special procedures mandate holders.”
The third draft covers the same period as its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report, Daily Mirror reported.
The LLRC was appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010 to learn from the ethnic separatist conflict to prevent a repetition.
The mandate was to cover the period from February 22, 2002 to May 19, 2009 which is the time between the Norwegian backed peace initiative and the government’s triumphant military campaign which ended the LTTE’s armed movement of over three decades.
The government sources said the insertion of the period of the LLRC mandate was at the insistence of India.
The resolution asks member nations “to take note of the High Commissioner’s recommendations and conclusions regarding ongoing human rights violations and the need for an international inquiry mechanism in the absence of a credible national process with tangible results.”
Based on UN rights chief Navi Pillay’s report, the U.S. is to move the resolution, backed by the U.K., calling for an international investigation into alleged rights abuses.
However, Sri Lanka accuses Ms Pillay of being biased and questioned her impartiality in instituting an international inquiry.
