Strong calls for Sri Lanka to implement said commitments on delivering justice as OISL discussed at UNHRC

30 September 2015

There were strong calls from member states at the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday for the new Sri Lankan government to deliver concrete steps on its said commitments towards justice and accountability, as the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) was discussed at the Council.

Find our live coverage of the discussion on our Twitter feed here.Introducing the debate High Commissioner, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, reiterated the report's recommendation that a hybrid special court be established in order to give confidence to the victims and their families in the process of justice and accountability.

See: Hybrid special court essential to give victims confidence in process reiterates UN Human Rights chief (30 Sep 2015)

Sri Lanka responded to the OISL report, stating that the recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) will “receive due attention”.

See: OISL recommendations will ‘receive due attention’ says Sri Lanka (30 Sep 2015)

Member states and non-governmental organisations added to the debate with responses on the findings of the OISL report in statements to the council. 

Calls for strong international involvement

Several statements called on the necessity of international involvement in Sri Lanka to see true justice and reconciliation on the island. 

Highlighting that victims confidence in the process would need a strong international component, Canada's envoy said, 

"We underline the importance of meaningful international involvement in such a mechanism to enhance its credibility particularly for victims."

Stressing the need for on-going international involvement the Estonian UN envoy said, 

"We agree with the High Commissioner's views that there is a need to tackle deep-seated and institutionalized impunity which risks violations being repeated. In this regard in our view, the suggested international component of the investigation into human rights violations together with systematic reporting would assist in guaranteeing an effective and credible accountability mechanism."

Calls for credible justice and prosecutions 

Member states and NGOs stressed the importance of seeing prosecution and credible justice to see a lasting peace on the island. 

Concern with on-going violations in Sri Lanka

Concerns of ongoing violations in Sri Lanka were also highlighted by several statements during the debate.

Calls for commitment to non-recurrence and ratification of Rome Statute

Sri Lanka was urged to ratify the Rome Statute as an immediate tangible measure to show commitment to non-recurrence on the island during the course of the debate.

Calls for devolution and ethnic political settlement 

Calling for the root cause of the ethnic conflict and violations in Sri Lanka to be addressed, statements called for a devolution of power to the Tamil community as a measure towards non-recurrence of crimes. 

Calling on the Sri Lankan government to implement the “immediate adoption of essential confidence building measures” for the victims of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, the European Union said the tabled resolution on Sri Lanka “marks a crucial step towards a credible transitional justice process... with the active support and participation of the international community”.

See more: EU calls for ‘immediate adoption of essential confidence building measures’ for victims in Sri Lanka (30 Sep 2015)

See UK Statement: UK reaffirms commitment to justice and non-recurrence in Sri Lanka(30 Sep 2015)