Intl rights groups slam Sirisena for making ‘mockery’ of UN pledge

Several international human rights groups have slammed Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena for making ‘mockery’ of the pledge he made to the UN with regard to war crime accountability, by rejecting outright the involvement of foreign judges and prosecutors in the judicial probe.

Unlike the previous hawkish Rajapaksa regime, the Sirisena’s government in September last year not only welcomed but also co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) resolution, which called a war crimes court with the participation of foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators. “I will never agree to international involvement in this matter. We have more than enough specialists, experts and knowledgeable people in our country to solve our internal issues,” President Sirisena said in an interview with BBC’s Azzam Ameen in Colombo on Thursday. Condemning President’s remarks, the UK-based Freedom From Torture described it “an outrageous reversal of promises made to torture survivors and the international community in October 2015 to deliver an internationalised justice process as part of the new government’s determination to achieve accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka”. “Survivors of torture receiving rehabilitation treatment from Freedom from Torture have been clear from the start that for them to have any confidence in the justice process, there must be strong international participation at every stage and level,” said its Director of Policy and Advocacy Sonya Sceats. Expressing similar sentiments, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) said President Sirisena “appears to be rolling back on his commitment in Geneva to include international involvement in a future judicial mechanism”. “This flies in the face of the recommendation of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that Sri Lankan establish “an ad hoc hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators” said ITJP Executive Director Yasmin Sooka. High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who is due to visit Sri Lanka shortly, has been very clear about the “total failure of domestic mechanisms to conduct credible investigations” in Sri Lanka. “The High Commissioner is right: international involvement is essential for victims and witnesses to have trust in the justice process because Sri Lanka has such a long history of failed domestic processes,” Sooka said.