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U.N. adopts Sri Lanka’s resolution

COLOMBO: The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday dropped a Swiss-EU draft resolution calling for an investigation into possible war crimes during Sri Lanka’s recently-concluded war on terrorism and adopted Sri Lanka’s counter resolution with some of the proposals in the Swiss-EU document incorporated into it.

Of the 47-member Council, 29 voted for Sri Lanka’s resolution, 12 against and 6 abstained. U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay had told the Council there was credible evidence that both the forces and the LTTE grossly violated international humanitarian laws.

But Sri Lanka — backed by Asian countries including China, India and Pakistan — managed to push through its own resolution. The text condemns the Tamil Tigers and “welcomes... the liberation by the government of Sri Lanka of tens of thousands of its citizens that were kept by the LTTE against their will as hostages.”

The Council, an inter-governmental body within the U.N. system, called on Sri Lanka’s government to “continue strengthening its activities to ensure there was no discrimination against ethnic minorities in the enjoyment of the full range of human rights.”

It also commended Sri Lanka on its efforts to assist the estimated 3,00,000 people displaced by the war in the north and called on the international community to help the country rebuild after the conflict.

In a statement, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights, said at the United Nation Human Rights Council Special Session on Sri Lanka: “There is absolutely no issue in terms of giving access. To our partners we have given access and we will continue to give access to complement government efforts in looking after the needy”.

“Today we have all of the U.N. agencies working side by side with governmental officials in each and every one of these camps. Today we have given access to 52 international non-governmental organisations and other non-governmental organisations to work side by side with government officials in complementing efforts of the government”.

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