Human Rights Violations Continue In Sri Lanka – Forum-Asia
- Over 5,600 Cases Of Disappeared Persons Still Pending
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) last week at a UNHRC session drew attention to several human rights issues in Sri Lanka.
FORUM-ASIA representative Pooja Patel stated that human rights violations in Sri Lanka are persistent, and that over 5,600 cases of people reported missing had not been addressed.
“As reflected in the report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Sri Lankan government has yet to provide clarification on 5,653 outstanding cases,” she said.
Patel also expressed concern over what she referred to as “the systematic erosion of democratic structures and institutions in Sri Lanka,” citing the 18th Amendment to the Constitution as one of the reasons behind this.
“Against this backdrop, an extremely hostile environment for human rights defenders and journalists has been created, and attacks on media institutions and civil society organisations are ongoing. The fact that the NGO Secretariat is placed under the Ministry of Defence is indicative of the government’s deplorable perception of the work of human rights and civil society organisations,” she said. In her statement to the UNHRC, Patel also requested that the Council look into any recommendations in the report expected to be produced by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts.
Sri Lanka may be the country with the largest number of “involuntary disappearances”.
Now that this has been brought to the attention of the UN Human Rights Council, what action will be taken by the SLGovernment, is the question.
Where are the diplomats who at earlier sessiions of the council painted a glorious image of the regime.
One even brainwashed other delegates so that a resolution ‘praising’ SL for its record of ‘human rights’ was passed – he takes great pride in this and was rewarded by reinstatement as an ambassador.
Will Bell Pottinger’s advice be sought.
Two years ago, the SL delegation informed that the attorney general had indicted more than 500 members of the armed forces and police for human rights violations.
So far there are no reports of any trials.
There were also no trials of 108 SL peacekeepers who were expelled by the UN from Haiti for sexual violations of haitian females, mostly children.