CANADA MUST PUSH FOR STRONG RESOLUTION ON SRI LANKA AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL OTTAWA
Craig Scott -NDP
New Democrat Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar is calling on the Government of Canada to take leadership at United Nations Human Rights Council and push for a strong resolution for accountability in Sri Lanka.
“The international community as a whole failed to prevent atrocities and widespread violations of human rights against Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka,” said Dewar. “The new session of the United Nations Human Rights Council offers us a crucial opportunity to take steps toward restoring justice. Canada must push for a strong resolution that acts upon the recommendations of the UN Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka.”
The UN Panel of Experts Report revealed that “there are credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law were committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan (LTTE), some of which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.” It recommended that those responsible be prosecuted and urged the UN to launch an immediate and independent investigation.
In 2009, the Sri Lankan military cornered hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians in a small piece of land along with LTTE fighters. The area was shelled indiscriminately with the stated goal of defeating the insurgents. In the process, thousands of civilians were killed as the international community turned a blind eye. The Government of Sri Lanka has rejected global calls for accountability. Worse still, it has been actively promoting its model abroad to other countries facing domestic insurgencies.
“Despite repeated assurances from the Government of Sri Lanka, judicial independence and respect for human rights took another step backwards when the Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake faced a politically-motivated impeachment,” said Dewar. “Failure to hold the Sri Lankan government to account sends a troubling message to other countries facing domestic insurgencies – that the international community is willing to see similar atrocities repeated elsewhere with full impunity.”
“New Democrats stand in solidarity with people of conscience around the world in calling on the Sri Lankan government to demonstrate a commitment to honour and uphold values of good governance and respect for human rights,” said Dewar. “Canada must act responsibility on the global stage and work with other countries to pass a meaningful and strong resolution at the Human Rights Council on this issue.”
-30- For more information, please contact:
Amneet Singh, Outreach Officer, 613-296-0149 or Amneet.Singh@parl.gc.ca
