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Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 4.30 GMT |
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Minister sets the record straight on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation |
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Minister of
Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mahinda
Samarasinghe responding to the earlier statements
made by a few countries on the situation in Sri
Lanka strongly refuted the assertion that the
situation has worsened. He said “We regret one or
two statements made here, that fly in the face of
all concrete evidence, that the situation in Sri
Lanka is deteriorating, when we have dealt more
firmly with terrorism, with far-less damage to
civilians, than in any comparative situation.”
Minister made these comments at the opening of the
High Level Segment of the 7th Session of the UN
Human Rights Council, yesterday (March 3) in Geneva.
The Minister announced that the Government is in
agreement with the setting up of a Parliamentary
Committee on Human Rights, Rule of Law and
Humanitarian Issues. The Government will be taking
steps with the assistance of the Inter Parliamentary
Union to discuss this proposal with other political
party leaders in Parliament. When implemented, this
committee, which will include opposition Members of
Parliament, can act as an influential oversight
body.
He said that Ministry of Disaster Management and
Human Rights at present is engaged in a discussion
with the UNDP and the Senior Human Rights Advisor to
the UN Country Team on future cooperation between
the UN and the Government of Sri Lanka. The main
thrust of this initiative is to formulate a National
Plan of Action on the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights as envisaged in the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action.
He expressed confidence that Sri Lanka could count
on her many friends in the Human Rights Council who
understand and appreciate the complexities of the
situation faced and the progress made to date.
The full text of the statement made by the Minister
is as follows:
"Mr. President,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the outset, let me congratulate you, Mr.
President, on your able leadership and the
professionalism with which you have guided the
early, and sometimes challenging, years of this
Council to meet the expectations of all peoples and
nations in the world. My delegation assures you our
full cooperation and constructive engagement at all
levels in bringing the work of this Seventh Session
to a successful conclusion.
Mr. President,
Sri Lanka is today facing a number of critical
challenges.
Most important among these is the need to secure,
guarantee and advance the rights all Sri Lankans to
live in an environment free from fear and want,
enabling them to achieve their full potential and to
live in dignity. When I speak of all Sri Lankans, I
speak of people who belong to every ethnic,
linguistic, religious and cultural background, which
makes up the rich and colourful mosaic that is the
Sri Lankan nation.
The greatest impediment we face, in meeting this
challenge, Mr. President, is the armed conflict
forced upon us by a separatist terrorism that seeks
to sow the seeds of discord, mayhem and disunity
amongst our people and to dismember our nation. We
note that the Sri Lanka monitoring Mission has ruled
3,830 violations by the LTTE in five years while a
cease-fire agreement was meant to be in force –
representing well over 90 per cent of all the
determined violations.
The Government of Sri Lanka therefore stands firm in
its unwavering determination to continue to oppose
the use of terrorism as a means of achieving
political gains. We are, Mr. President, equally firm
in our resolve to uphold the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the country while, at the
same time, preserving the fundamental freedoms of
all.
Mr. President,
The Sri Lankan polity has been dominated for a
quarter of a century by an ethnic issue, which
requires a political solution as a means to resolve
our problems; not terrorism.
This is why, Mr. President, while we continue our
fight against terrorism, we also endeavour to find a
sustainable political solution acceptable to all.
This solution must not only guarantee social equity
and fundamental freedoms but also empower every
citizen through power sharing; bringing government
closer to the people.
The All Party Representatives Committee (APRC)
launched by President Rajapakse is tasked with
formulating a comprehensive set of proposals to
resolve the ethnic issue. On the eve of the 60th
Anniversary of our independence on 4 February, this
Committee recommended several key measures for
expansion of language rights and for the full
implementation of the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution, enacted in 1987, which provided for
far-reaching devolution measures to the Provinces.
These measures have been welcomed by India, which
assisted in the initial development of the power
sharing arrangement via the Indo-Lanka Accord, and
also by other friendly nations, as representing a
valuable first step in the process of securing
sustainable peace.
Now that the Eastern Province is freed from the
clutches of the separatist terrorists, we are able
to reinvigorate the democratic institutions at
provincial and local levels. This is especially
significant as the Eastern Province is one in which
all three communities are represented.
Given the willingness of political actors in this
Province to engage in the electoral process, and in
the institutions of representative democracy, the
Government of Sri Lanka strongly believes that the
proposal to implement the 13th Amendment is all the
more important. Subsequent to the abrogation of the
2002 cease-fire, Sri Lanka has been able to proceed
with such a measure, which has been welcomed by
several Tamil political parties that had eschewed
violence and joined the democratic process but been
left out of discussions because of the polarizing
nature of the Cease-Fire Agreement as initially
negotiated.
As a first step towards the implementation of police
powers under the 13th Amendment, the first induction
of 175 persons of Tamil ethnic origin, including 50
women, into the police service in the Eastern
Province took place recently and 400 more police
officers of Tamil origin are to be recruited
shortly. The people recruited are from the local
area; they speak the local language and come from
similar communities that they serve. The principle
of recruitment of officers of Tamil ethnic origin
underlines the Government's commitment to ensure
that police officers deployed in these areas can
communicate with the local community and thereby
better fulfill their responsibilities.
Mr. President, Language has been one of the most
important issues underlying the ethnic problem. The
Government has taken concerted action to ensure
language rights in accordance with Constitutional
obligations. The Sri Lankan legislature recently
enacted the National Institute of Language Education
and Training Act which puts in place a framework for
structured training, research and archiving and
dissemination of information relating to language
training. The Government has also adopted
administrative measures that will encourage the
acquisition of bi-lingual skills by all sectors in
public service, particularly in the Police service.
With regard to training of the Police, I may also
mention that the Inter Ministerial Committee on
Human Rights is engaged in an effort to develop
better training for Police officers on human rights
law. We are also looking at the enhancement of human
rights education in the secondary school system.
Mr. President,
We were pleased to have welcomed the High
Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, Under
Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Sir John
Holmes, the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally
Displaced Persons Walter Kälin and the Special
Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak to our shores
during the second half of 2007, as a part of our
sustained policy of open and constructive engagement
with the international human rights mechanisms which
was reflected in key pledges made during our
successful campaign for the membership of this
august body in 2006. Furthermore, just last week we
facilitated the visit of Angela Kane, UN Assistant
Secretary-General for Political Affairs, to Sri
Lanka. Several other requests for visits have also
been made – these will also be considered and
facilitated in due course and will further
demonstrate our commitment to continuing dialogue.
These high-level UN dignitaries have acknowledged
that the Government facilitated their visits and
that they were provided with access to sites and
people in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Whenever
requests were made for confidential meetings, the
Government also facilitated such requests. We are
currently engaged in a process of reviewing and
prioritizing the several recommendations made by
these high-level dignitaries. We will then
coordinate, facilitate and support the necessary
capacity building, training and reforms needed to
resolutely tackle the outstanding issues identified
by these visitors. We have canvassed the support of
UN agencies in Sri Lanka to complement Government
efforts in this regard. We are firmly committed to
fully implementing all constructive recommendations
that can realistically be fulfilled.
Our openness to fair and objective scrutiny on human
rights has been exemplified, Mr. President, by our
continued engagement with UN special procedures. My
own visits to Geneva have given me the opportunity
to conduct an on-going dialogue with regional groups
and interested parties on developments in Sri Lanka.
We are also opening ourselves up to the Universal
Periodic Review process in May when we will candidly
discuss the underlying realities we face in the
context of guaranteeing human rights while engaging
in a conflict against a ruthless and increasingly
desperate adversary.
As highlighted earlier, let me stress the
fundamental principle upon which we engage and
cooperate with international actors both in and
outside this Council. We do not hold ourselves above
criticism from well meaning and genuine friends and
partners; when such constructive criticism is made
in order to further promote the democratic values
and fundamental freedoms that the people of Sri
Lanka have upheld for the last six decades of our
independence. What we do not, however, welcome are
efforts to denigrate and weaken us in the eyes of
the international community to achieve propaganda
gains and to fulfill narrow politically motivated
objectives.
Furthermore, Mr. President, we do not believe in the
imposition of external structures, which could
undermine the very democratic national institutional
framework upon which any national human rights
promotion and protection system should be founded.
Any effort, therefore, by this Council in the
promotion and protection of human rights should be
based on the primary aim of assisting and
facilitating the strengthening and capacity-building
of national institutions of States, which seek such
assistance in good faith, and in accordance with
their needs and priorities.
Mr. President,
With regard to several legislative measures we have
initiated recently, perhaps the most important is
our on-going effort to strengthen the legal
framework of the Human Rights Commission of Sri
Lanka through the modality of a Parliamentary Select
Committee. The strengthening of the Human Rights
Commission in order to enable it to fulfill its
recently published Strategic Plan is of the highest
priority. We also believe that the expansion of its
regional network, staffing and training of its
officers deserves the attention of our international
partners. This Parliamentary Select Committee will
also inquire into the sphere of post-enactment
judicial review of legislation which would
contribute further to the protection of human
rights. We hope to accomplish these measures in the
coming months.
The fundamental rights guaranteed in our
Constitution, as well as other laws that protect and
promote human rights, have been supplemented by
legislative incorporation of certain rights under
the ICCPR.
Mr. President, in the context of on-going
investigations into alleged violations of human
rights, the Government has now approved a draft law
on the protection of witnesses to and victims of
crime and has taken the decision to bring this
important bill as an urgent bill before Parliament.
There was a consultative process in the formulation
of this bill, including consultations with civil
society. Useful suggestions made by the
International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP)
in respect of the bill have also been incorporated.
We expect that with the passage of this bill, public
confidence in the law enforcement process will be
enhanced resulting in greater participation in
investigations and prosecutions.
There is also an on-gong process of drafting a new
Constitutional Bill of Rights through a deliberative
process involving government and civil society
actors. The proposed Bill, which is being drafted,
will be mindful of international obligations not
only under civil and political rights but also
economic, social and cultural rights.
We have recently amended the Commissions of Inquiry
Act to enable Commissions such as the Presidential
Commission of Inquiry appointed to inquire into a
selected number of alleged serious violations of
human rights, to function with greater ease and also
to be able to expeditiously complete their mandates.
The Commission is proceeding apace with inquiries
into three high profile cases.
Intensive investigations and inquiries by the
Commission have achieved a fair degree of progress
under the scrutiny of the International Independent
Group of Eminent Persons. This very day sees the
commencement of public inquiries before the
Commission into the deplorable incident in which 17
young aid workers of Action Contre La Faim lost
their lives. Investigations are nearing completion
and we expect an outcome that upholds the principles
of justice once the Commission completes its
deliberations. The public inquiry into the killing
of five youths in Trincomalee, commenced in January.
Arrangements have been made to record video evidence
of witnesses who are overseas. Investigations are
underway into the massacre of 10
Muslim civilians in Pottuvil in the East and also
other incidents within the Commission's mandate.
Allegations of impunity, made by certain vested
interests, against Government forces, are therefore,
Mr. President, premature and ill-conceived.
Mr. President,
My Ministry is, at present, engaged in a discussion
with the UNDP and the Senior Human Rights Advisor to
the UN Country Team on future cooperation between
the UN and the Government of Sri Lanka. The main
thrust of this initiative is to formulate a National
Plan of Action on the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights as envisaged in the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action.
We anticipate that the proposed Plan of Action will
be able to address the existing gaps in order to
build a stronger national protection framework in
the further promotion and protection of human rights
in the country.
In addition to the UN mechanisms, my Ministry also
interacts with several other international
organizations and a range of bilateral partners to
improve good governance and human rights protection
system. For instance, recently the Inter
Parliamentary Union sent a high-level team to Sri
Lanka, which recommended the establishment within
Parliament of a series of multi-partisan oversight
committees.
The envisaged committees would be tasked with
in-depth investigation of issues within their
specific thematic mandates. I am pleased to announce
that the Government is in agreement with the setting
up of a Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights,
Rule of Law and Humanitarian Issues. The Government
will be taking steps with the assistance of the
Inter Parliamentary Union to discuss this proposal
with other political party leaders in Parliament.
When implemented, this committee, which will include
opposition Members of Parliament, can act as an
influential oversight body.
With regard to the vexed and seemingly intractable
problem of children and armed conflict, let me
assure you Mr. President and this Council that we
are working actively and constructively to fully
implement the recommendations of the Security
Council Working Group and the Special
Representative, complemented by our own Treaty
obligations as a Party to both CRC and its relevant
Optional Protocol. Our well-established zero
tolerance policy encompasses not only preventive
measures but also larger and more complex issues of
rehabilitation and reintegration. Sri Lanka was one
of the first countries to set up a National Task
Force, as required by SC resolution 1612 and I have
also appointed a high-level committee that will
probe allegations relating to abduction of children
for use in armed conflict, as well as to implement
plans for rehabilitation and reintegration. Just
last week, Mr. President, a senior Sri Lankan
delegation engaged in an open dialogue on progress
achieved so far with the SC Working Group on
Children and Armed Conflict in New York.
Mr. President,
As you aware, one the biggest consequences of the
conflict is the displacement of people. I personally
chair a number of forums tasked with developing
national policy, and coordinating humanitarian
efforts to provide internally displaced persons with
relief, shelter and a means to recovery, including
eventual resettlement. I can report that to date we
have successfully resettled approximately 120,000
IDPs in the East. We are now focused on economic
recovery, livelihood development and infrastructure
projects to ensure that return is sustainable. We
look to our international partners to assist us in
this regard and appreciate the assistance and
cooperation received so far. The Government has, in
partnership with UNHCR, developed a comprehensive
strategy on confidence-building and stabilization
measures, which we feel, will assist in overcoming
challenges in the post-return phase and ensure
sustainability of resettlement by restoring
confidence amongst and between former displaced and
host communities.
Against the above mentioned backdrop Mr. President,
Sri Lanka is proud to announce its candidature for
the continued presence in this Council at the
forthcoming elections to be held in New York in May.
We have made concerted efforts to fulfill in good
faith the pledges we made during our successful
campaign in 2006. I am proud to point-out that the
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka
in Geneva is presently holding one of the Vice
Presidencies of this Council and let me assure you
Mr. President that we will continue to contribute to
the effective fulfillment of the mandate of this
august body. We will also continue our efforts to
further undertake measures at national and
international level in the continued promotion and
protection of human rights in Sri Lanka as well at
international level, in the sprit of cooperation and
constructive engagement.
I wish to inform you that my Ministry will launch a
national human rights awareness campaign to
commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Sri Lanka is also
pleased to be one of the co-sponsors of the
resolution initiated by the delegation of Brazil and
adopted by consensus at the last session of this
Council on the elaboration of human rights voluntary
goals to be launched on the occasion of the
celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the UDHR in
December 2008.
Mr. President,
Securing an environment of peace, prosperity and
thereby creating a better future for all Sri Lankans,
while guaranteeing their fundamental freedoms within
a multi-ethnic, multicultural, multi-religious and
multi-lingual nation, is our main goal. I hope
therefore that all our international partners will
assist the Government of President Mahinda Rajapakse
to achieve this goal
Despite all our efforts which I have just described,
we regret one or two statements made here, that fly
in the face of all concrete evidence, that the
situation in Sri Lanka is deteriorating, when we
have dealt more firmly with terrorism, with far-less
damage to civilians, than in any comparative
situation.
Sri Lanka may be a small country, but nevertheless
it is a country that is proud of its heritage and
democratic values which it has upheld and continues
to uphold under extreme adversity. We will not be
pressurized by subjective criticism, however
powerful the source may be, which seems influenced
by parochial agendas. If similar energies and
anxieties were directed towards the LTTE as the
energies and anxieties displayed vis-à-vis Sri
Lanka, Mr. President, it will greatly precipitate
the realization of a durable and lasting solution.
Sri Lanka knows that we can count on our many
friends in this Council who understand and
appreciate the complexities of the situation we
face, and the progress we are making in putting an
end to terrorism and uniting our people.
Thank you Mr. President."
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