UNHRC Chief calls for transparent probe on Easter Attacks . Nada Al-Nashif, the UN Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, has urged UN Human Rights Council Member States and international financial institutions to ensure Sri Lanka with fiscal space to meet its core economic and social rights obligations.
On Monday (12), the Acting High Commissioner stated in the UNHRC Comprehensive Report and Interactive Dialogue on Sri Lanka that it is critical that the government create an environment that respects and promotes free expression, peaceful assembly, and inclusive democratic participation.
She went on to say that the Sri Lankan government now has a new chance to lead the country toward justice and reconciliation, and as well as to address the country’s conflict legacy.
“Continued reports of surveillance and intimidation of civil society organisations, victim groups, human rights defenders, journalists, and former LTTE cadres by police, military, and intelligence services are concerning,” said the Acting High Commissioner. “Without fundamental security-sector reforms and de-militarization of the North and East, this pervasive culture of surveillance and oppression will not end.”
She also stated that the Sri Lankan government has repeatedly failed to pursue an effective transitional justice process . Uphold victims’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations, and that successive governments have actively promoted and incorporated some military and former paramilitary officials credibly implicated in alleged war crimes into the highest levels of government, and have failed to present a shared understanding.
“Similarly, despite the charging of some suspects, no further progress has been made in establishing the truth about the terrible Easter Sunday bombings of 2019,” she added. “The OHCHR calls for an independent and transparent investigation, with international assistance if necessary, to pursue further lines of inquiry, in particular the role of the security establishment, in a process that guarantees the full participation of victims and their representatives.”
The Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the mandate granted by this Council in resolution 46/1—to continue monitoring the human rights situation and pursue accountability for crimes under international law—is now more important than ever, and responds to the widespread desire for change expressed by Sri Lankans of all communities.