The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Thursday said the UN Human Rights Council, by adopting a resolution on Sri Lanka, affirmed the importance of international involvement in the justice and accountability process for serious crimes of an international nature.
‘Time for action’In a statement, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson of the OHCHR, said: “This is a historic opportunity for Sri Lanka to address the grave human rights violations and abuses that its people suffered, at the hands of both the LTTE and the Government, during the conflict and in its immediate aftermath.”
She said it was now time for action and “we look forward to advising and accompanying Sri Lanka on its path to justice, accountability and non-recurrence of past violations, including through judicial and truth-seeking processes as well as through legal and institutional reform”. She expressed the hope that the OHCHR would “engage extensively” with Sri Lanka in the implementation of the report’s recommendations.
India’s envoy at UN Ajit Kumar has said India has “always supported” efforts to preserve Sri Lanka’s identity as a “multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious society” in which all citizens, including the Sri Lankan Tamil community, could live in equality, safety and harmony, and prosper and fulfil their aspirations within a united Sri Lanka.
The adoption of the text on Thursday marks the end of an episode which began in March 2014 when the UNHRC passed a resolution, through voting, requesting the OHCHR to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the alleged rights violations.
The previous regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa came under criticism internationally for the way it handled the last stages of the civil war and the post-war situation.
Published - October 01, 2015 11:27 pm IST
