The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday adopted a consensus resolution on accountability for the alleged human rights violations during the Sri Lankan civil war.
Sponsored by the U.S., the U.K. and other countries, including Sri Lanka, the resolution called upon Colombo to establish a credible judicial process, with the participation of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorised prosecutors and investigators, to go into the alleged rights abuses.
The judicial mechanism “should include independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for their integrity and impartiality,” according to the resolution.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will continue to assess the progress in the implementation of its recommendations and other processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights. The OHCHR will present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at the 32nd session (likely in June 2016) and a comprehensive report at the 34th session (March 2017).
After the resolution was adopted, India’s envoy Ajit Kumar said: “We reiterate our firm belief that the meaningful devolution of political authority through the implementation of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of Sri Lanka [adopted in 1987 as a sequel to an agreement between India and Sri Lanka] and building upon it would greatly help the process of national reconciliation.”
