|
Article Tools |
 E-mail this article Printer friendly version Comments
[ - ]
Text Size
[ + ]
|
For Immediate Release
May 26, 2009
(Geneva) The conclusion of the 11th Special Session of the Human Rights Council examining the situation of Sri Lanka was a disappointing blow for Tamils around the world who were counting on the international community to take a strong stance against Sri Lanka’s brutal and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and abysmal human rights record.
“What transpired in Geneva at the Human Rights Council today was more about politics than about the humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place in Sri Lanka,” says Harini Sivalingam from Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada
The adoption of a weak text was a result of days of negotiating the text of a draft resolution. The resolution adopted by the Council by a vote instead of a consensus, is a reflection of how polarized and paralyzed the Human Rights Council and UN mechanisms are in addressing serious human rights situations. Countries such as Cuba and Pakistan supported Sri Lanka’s version of the resolution and opposed important amendments suggested by a cross-regional group of States led by Germany, Switzerland and Canada.
“There is nothing in this resolution about investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity that have occurred during the armed conflict. There is no accountability and no follow-up for human rights violations,“ says Harini Sivalingam, a Tamil Canadian representative in Geneva. “In addition to inadequate language on the gravity of the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, the resolution lacks any substance on a long-term political resolution to the underlying issues that give rise to the armed conflict.”
The Tamil Diaspora is deeply disappointed in the outcome of the Special Session.
For further comments or concerns please contact Gary Anandasangaree at 416.564.9991 or mail@garya.ca.
Published: May 28, 2009 2:16:00 GMT
