UN rights chief urged to identify areas with lack of progress in Sri Lanka's implementation of Geneva resolution

A group of human rights organizations have urged the UN rights chief to clearly identify in his oral report to the ongoing Human Right Council session the areas, where there is no progress made in the implementation of the UN resolution on Sri Lanka adopted last October. In an open letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussain, the group, including the Human Rights Watch, and International Commission of Jurists, urged the rights chief to incorporate in his report clear benchmarks that include immediately achievable steps while acknowledging the progress that has been made so far.

"We believe it is crucial for your oral update to identify areas where progress has been made, as well as areas where there is a lack of progress and incorporate clear benchmarks that include immediately achievable steps," the group said. The High Commissioner is scheduled to present his oral update on Sri Lanka on 27 June. The letter, signed by FORUM-Asia, Franciscans International, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurist, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) and the International Service for Human Rights, pointed out that the resolution identified the forthcoming oral update as a midway point in the process of assessment of progress on the implementation of 30/1 resolution prior to a comprehensive progress report next March. "While the government's assurances on progress have been plentiful its performance on the ground has been mixed and not befitting expectations outlined in your report and in the resolution as well as those of victims and people on the ground," the group noted. While there have been some positive developments on international cooperation, at the same time there have been mixed signals on the government's commitments made through the October resolution, at the highest level of the government, the right organizations said.