Zeid requests “one time only” deferral of key report on Sri
Lanka conflict
GENEVA (16 February 2015) – UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Monday explained his recommendation to the
Human Rights Council to delay the consideration of a long-awaited report into
alleged human rights violations during the conflict in Sri Lanka for six months
until September 2015.*
The High Commissioner stressed that the deferral of the
report was “for one time only,” and guaranteed that the report would be
published by September. His request for deferral was granted by the Council on
Monday afternoon.
“This has been a difficult decision,” Zeid said. “There are
good arguments for sticking to the original timetable, and there are also
strong arguments for deferring the report’s consideration a bit longer, given
the changing context in Sri Lanka, and the possibility that important new
information may emerge which will strengthen the report.”
“In addition, I have received clear commitments from the new
Government of Sri Lanka indicating it is prepared to cooperate with my Office
on a whole range of important human rights issues – which the previous
Government had absolutely refused to do – and I need to engage with them to
ensure those commitments translate into reality.”
The High Commissioner noted that the three distinguished
experts,** who were appointed by his predecessor Navi Pillay to advise the
investigation, had informed him that, in their unanimous view, a one-off
temporary deferral would be the best option to allow space for the new
Government to show its willingness to cooperate on human rights issues.
“Taking all this into account, I have therefore decided, on
balance, to request more time to allow for a stronger and more comprehensive
report,” Zeid.
“I am acutely aware that many victims of human rights violations
in Sri Lanka, including those who have bravely come forward to provide
information to the inquiry team, might see this is as the first step towards
shelving, or diluting, a report they have long feared they would never see. I
fully understand those fears and deep anxieties, given the history of failed or
obstructed domestic human rights inquiries in Sri Lanka, and the importance of
this international investigation being carried out by my team at the UN Human
Rights Office.”
“There should be no misunderstanding,” the High Commissioner
continued. “I give my personal, absolute and unshakable commitment that the
report will be published by September. Like my predecessors, I believe that one
of the most important duties of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is to
act as a strong voice on behalf of victims. I want this report to have the
maximum possible impact in ensuring a genuine and credible process of
accountability and reconciliation in which the rights of victims to truth,
justice and reparations are finally respected.”
ENDS
* In March 2014, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) – a
47-member State body – adopted resolution 25/1 entitled ‘Promoting
Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ which requested
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “to undertake a
comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human
rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period
covered by Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission” which
examined the last years of the armed conflict. The HRC requested the UN Human
Rights Office “to establish the facts and circumstances of such alleged
violations, and of the crimes perpetrated, with a view to avoiding impunity and
ensuring accountability,” with assistance from relevant experts. The resolution
requested the Office to present a comprehensive report at its 28th session in
March 2015.
** The three experts, appointed in June 2014, are: Martti
Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, renowned
for his international peace work; Silvia
Cartwright, former Governor-General and High Court judge of New Zealand, and
judge of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts in Cambodia; Asma Jahangir, former President of Pakistan’s
Supreme Court Bar Association and of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,
and previous holder of several Human Rights Council mandates.
For more information and media requests, please contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org),
Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 orrshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly
(+41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org).
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