Heavy military presence in Sri Lanka’s North and East: UN

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, has found “heavy” military presence in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. Describing as “slow” the progress in identification and release of land still held by the military in the two provinces, Mr. Hussein told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday that “these point to a deeper challenge for the [Sri Lanka] government in asserting full control over the military and intelligence establishment”.

Concerns raised On the process of the military shifting its structures and resettlement, the High Commissioner, who visited Sri Lanka in February, felt “the lack of transparency” in the process was “increasingly feeding frustration and disenchantment, particularly amongst victims and the IDP [internally-displaced persons] community.” Presenting at the 32nd session of the Council an oral update on Sri Lanka nine months after a consensus resolution was adopted on reconciliation and accountability, Mr. Hussein also expressed his concern over the fate of persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). “The government has not moved fast enough with tangible measures to build confidence among victims and minority communities. There are anxieties that the full promise of governance reform, transitional justice and economic revival, risks stalling or dissipating.” He urged Colombo to build public and international confidence by advancing some of the emblematic cases pending before the courts and achieve successful prosecutions. Mr. Hussein reiterated the importance of international participation in the proposed accountability mechanism, an issue in which the Sri Lankan government had repeatedly stated its preference against the involvement of foreign judges. The international participation would be a necessary guarantee for the credibility, independence and impartiality of the process in the eyes of victims, given the magnitude and complexity of the alleged international crimes, he said, which, his office’s investigation found, could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Emphasising the need for transparency in formulating transitional justice models, he said those participating in such consultations should not subject to intimidation and that the voices of victims abroad should be included in the process. It was also important for the government not to preempt the results of the consultation process. While acknowledging the government’s engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms and its work in the area of reconciliation, the High Commissioner said “Dealing with the multiple tracks of constitutional reform, transitional justice, economic recovery and security sector reform would tax the capacity of any government. Nevertheless, I urge the government to take concrete steps to address the impatience, anxiety and reservations of victims.”