8.3-magnitude quake rattles north Chile, 1 million evacuate

By Luis Andres Henao | AP September 17 ILLAPEL, Chile — Thousands of residents of this small city in northern Chile slept outside Thursday after a powerful earthquake destroyed their homes, forced more than 1 million to evacuate and killed at least 10 people in the quake-prone South American nation.

Watch aerial video footage of the damage from the 8.3 magnitude earthquake and small tsunami waves in the coastal community of Los Vilos. (Reuters)

8.3-Magnitude Quake Rattles North Chile, 1 Million Evacuate by Thavam Ratna

Patch may boost repair after heart attack

Image copyrightALFRED PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Image captionDuring a heart attack, heart muscle cells die because of a lack of oxygen

By Smitha Mundasad-16 September 2015

A prototype patch could help the repair the damage caused by a heart attack, scientists say.

The early work, carried out on mice and pigs, reveals the protein-infused patch encourages the growth of healthy cells and leads to less scarring.

Scarring can be common after a heart attack, making the heart pump less effectively and sometimes fail.

Writing in the journal Nature, researchers say the patch may one day revolutionise treatment.

During an attack, muscle cells in the heart die because of a lack of blood flow and scientists believe repairing or replacing some of these cells may help reduce long-term damage.

In this trial an international team of researchers soaked a collagen patch in a protein known as Fstl1 and stitched it on to the hearts of animals who had experienced heart attacks.

Though the protein occurs naturally in healthy hearts, it becomes depleted in a key layer of the heart after an attack.

Two weeks later the hearts began to grow fresh muscle cells and new blood vessels, while showing signs of pumping more effectively.

Prof Pilar Ruiz-Lozano at Stanford University (which has patented the patch), said: "Many were so sick prior to getting the patch that they would have been candidates for heart transplantation.

"The hope is that a similar procedure could eventually be used in human heart attack patients who suffer severe heart damage."

Commenting on the study in Nature, Prof Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic at Columbia University, said the work "could lead to entirely new modalities for treating heart infarction".

But she cautioned that further studies needed to be done to understand whether this type of approach would work on larger animals and ultimately humans.

Zeid urges creation of hybrid special court in Sri Lanka as UN report confirms patterns of grave violations 
Sinhala and Tamil versions

GENEVA (16 September 2015) – A UN report* published today has identified patterns of grave violations in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2011, strongly indicating that war crimes and crimes against humanity were most likely committed by both sides to the conflict. The report recommends the establishment of a hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, as an essential step towards justice.

Zeid Urges Creation of Hybrid Special Court in Sri Lanka as UN Report Confirms Patterns of Grave Violations... by Thavam Ratna

Sri Lanka cannot domestically deal with 'grave crimes' found in OISL report says UN Rights Chief

16 September 2015The OHCHR investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) indicates a pattern of violations that suggest that crimes against humanity and war crimes were likely committed, said the United Nations Human Rights Chief upon releasing the report on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Zeid Hussein said,

Sri Lanka Cannot Domestically Deal With 'Grave Crimes' Found in OISL Report Says UN Rights Chief by Thavam Ratna

Sri Lanka: international judges 'should examine war crimes'
WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2015
A United Nations report finds evidence of abuses by both Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels at the end of the country's civil war, and calls for a special court to be set up there.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein

The report found that both sides "most likely" committed war crimes including mass killings of civilians. However it did not name any suspects, saying it was "a human rights investigation, not a criminal investigation."

On Monday the Sri Lankan government said it would set up its own truth and reconciliation commission. But the UN report on Wednesday called for the country to establish a "hybrid special court" where a prosecution could bring the evidence before a panel of international judges, warning that the Sri Lankan criminal justice system was not up to the huge task of examining what had happened on its own.

In response the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said the government would "ensure dialogue and wide consultations with all stakeholders.. in putting in place mechanisms and measures which will facilitate the right to know, the right to justice, reparations and guaranteeing non-recurrence with the aim of achieving reconciliation and durable peace."

Over several years Channel 4 News has aired shocking footage of various alleged violations during the final stages of the war, which ended in 2009.

In June 2011 a Channel 4 feature, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, was screened for the UN Human Rights Council. The film showed disturbing footage of the alleged massacre of prisoners, the targeted shelling of hospitals and the bodies of female Tamil fighters who had allegedly been sexually assaulted.

This evidence was submitted to the UN investigation.

'Grave violations'

In its report published on Wednesday the UN found "patterns of grave violations" between 2002 and 2011, and said government security forces were implicated in "unlawful killings carried out in a widespread manner against civilians" including politicians, aid workers and journalists.

It called on the Sri Lankan government to remove from office any military or security force personnel or any other official "where there are reasonable grounds to believe that they were involved in human rights violations" during the 26-year war.

According to a UN report in 2011, up to 40,000 Tamils died during the final offensive ordered by Mahinda Rajapaksa who was then president.

The UN has said that most of those civilians died in government shelling of ever-diminishing "No Fire Zones" - though the Tamil Tigers are also alleged to have committed grave abuses including suicide bombings and the use of human shields.

New political context

In January 2015 a dramatic election victory by Maithripala Sirisena brought to an end the presidency of Mr Rajapaksa, who had been in office for almost a decade.

In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein said: "This report is being presented in a new political context in Sri Lanka, which offers ground for hope, it is crucial that this historic opportunity for truly fundamental change is not allowed to slip."

However the UN report warned that bringing to an end "the impunity enjoyed by the security forces and associated paramilitary groups, as well as holding to account surviving members of the LTTE [Tamil Tiger rebels], will require political will and concerted efforts."

Sri Lanka Govt Responses to UN Report

16/09/2015

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka presents its compliments to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and with reference to the latter’s Note dated 10 September 2015 conveying an unedited advance copy of the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/30/61) and the Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) (A/HRC/30/SRP.2) has the honour to submit the following comments:

The Government of Sri Lanka,

-takes note of the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/30/61), and the recommendations made by the High Commissioner;

-is pleased and encouraged by the High Commissioner’s recognition of the efforts of the new Government since the Presidential election of 8 January 2015 in dealing with issues of concern for the people of Sri Lanka relating to human rights, rule of law, governance, justice, institutional and legal reform and reconciliation;

-appreciates the due recognition given to the Government’s constructive engagement with the High Commissioner and OHCHR aimed at addressing post-conflict issues that impact on achieving reconciliation;

-remains firm in its conviction to take all possible measures to ensure non-recurrence in keeping with the mandate given by the people of the country twice this year, 2015, at the Presidential election in January and the Parliamentary election in August;

-will ensure dialogue and wide consultations with all stakeholders especially the victims of conflict, communities, political parties, civil society representatives, the military as well as the High Commissioner and his Office, bilateral partners, and other international organistions in putting in place mechanisms and measures that will facilitate the right to know, right to justice, reparations and guaranteeing non-recurrence with the aim of achieving reconciliation and durable peace to ensure long-term progress of all her citizens;

-takes note also of the Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), recognises fully that this Report represents a human rights investigation and not a criminal investigation, and will ensure that its content as well as recommendations receive due attention of the relevant authorities including the new mechanisms that are envisaged to be set up;
-remains open to continuing its engagement with the High Commissioner and his Office as well as the systems and procedures of the Human Rights Council, aimed at taking steps to safeguard and uphold the human rights of all her citizens.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the assurances of its highest consideration.

Colombo, 15 September 2015

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights
Geneva

Sri Lanka: Front and Center at the UN Human Rights Council

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister recently delivered a strong speech in Geneva. Can the government match words with action?

By Taylor Dibbert-September 16, 2015

On Monday at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera, laid out the broad contours of the government’s plan regarding reconciliation, truth and justice.

The government’s agenda includes a truth and reconciliation commission; an office on missing persons; a judicial mechanism; and an office for reparations. Samaraweera emphasized the importance of finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict and mentioned the government’s intention to create a new constitution. He also spoke of getting “help and assistance from the international community where required.”

Towards the end of his speech, Samaraweera addressed the new government’s skeptics directly:

Those who are sceptical about Sri Lanka’s ability to transform as a nation, and address all these issues, are many. They claim that there can never be justice in Sri Lanka; that there can never be recognition of all communities as equals. All I have to say to them is: look at what the people achieved on the 8th of January. The world had given up hope on Sri Lanka to such an extent that very few believed that what was achieved through democratic means on that day was within the realm of possibility in my country. This feat was repeated on the 17th of August when extremists on both sides of the divide failed to secure seats in Parliament. Therefore, I say to the sceptics: don’t judge us by the broken promises, experiences and u-turns of the past. Let us design, define and create our future by our hopes and aspirations, and not be held back by the fears and prejudices of the past. Let us not be afraid to dream. Let us not be afraid to engage in meaningful dialogue aimed at finding solutions to problems as opposed to pointing fingers, heaping blame and scoring political points at the expense of future generations.

Samaraweera is a smooth operator and this was a strong speech. Colombo has laid out its plan with optimism and enough detail (for now anyway) to all but ensure that the forthcoming HRC resolution on Sri Lanka will be crafted through a collaborative, friendly process.

This Wednesday, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report, focused on wartime abuses in Sri Lanka, will be made public. Yet, unlike the past several years during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s reign, the discourse about the island nation at the HRC won’t be dominated by opprobrium and animosity.

While the positive changes that Sri Lanka has made since January have not gone unnoticed, the foreign minister’s speech on Monday was far more ambitious than that. Are these wide-ranging, deep reforms actually possible in Sri Lanka today? Is a domestic mechanism really the way to go? Samaraweera’s words definitely will not convince everybody – especially the Tamil community.

There are many reasons to be skeptical about the government’s plan – starting with the fact that Sri Lanka’shistory as it relates to commissions of inquiry and accountability has been characterized by serious political meddling and institutionalized impunity.

Colombo is getting the diplomacy right; that’s for sure. Yet, when it comes to the tough issues, whether the new government can match words with actions remains an open question.

UN Human Rights Council urges Sri Lanka war crimes court

The fate of thousands of Tamils has been in question since the final stages of the war

Hundreds of thousands of Tamils were trapped on a patch of land at the end of the war

Analysis: Charles Haviland, former BBC correspondent in Colombo

16 September 2015

The United Nations has called for a special court to try war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan army's long conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.

In a long-awaited report, the UN human rights office accused both sides of atrocities, especially during the final stages of the war in 2009.

In response Sri Lanka promised a local inquiry but will not allow the proposed court, which would have foreign judges.

UN Human Rights Council Urges Sri Lanka War Crimes Court by Thavam Ratna

“Hybrid” healer for “horrors” 

Thursday, 17 September 2015

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• UN rights chief flags ‘horrific’ violations, strong indication of war crimes by Govt. forces and LTTE
• Zeid hopes Human Rights Council will endorse OISL recommendations, including hybrid court
• UN Rights Chief recommends strong vetting of Lankan military personnel for peacekeeping missions, military exchanges
• Report finds evidence of extra-judicial killings, indiscriminate shelling by govt. troops
• OISL notes repeated shelling of hospitals in the Wanni; “serious doubt” they were accidental attacks
• Report finds LTTE leaders prevented civilians from leaving the battle zone
• Report finds Karuna group conscripted children after defecting to Govt; finds Govt. was aware of child recruitment

  United Nations Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein at yesterday's briefing on UNHRC Report on Sri Lanka.

Dharisha Bastians 
reporting from Geneva
The United Nations Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has called for the setting up of a special ‘hybrid court’ comprising international judges and prosecutors after a report by his Office revealed “horrific” violations strongly indicating that war crimes were most likely committed by both government forces and the LTTE and declared the country’s justice system incapable of dealing with the seriousness of the crimes.

“Hybrid” Healer for “Horrors” by Thavam Ratna

Refer Sri Lanka To The Security Council: North And East Priests Tell UN Human Rights Boss

September 16, 2015

170 priests and religious from North and East have today urged the UN Human Rights Council to refer Sri Lanka to the Security Council taking into account of the gravity of the crimes committed including during the last phase of war and begin the process that is available within the UN structure.

Writing to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights they said; “that the accountability mechanism to investigate the crimes committed, including the last phase of war, should be an international mechanism”

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein – The HR Chief

We publish below the letter in full;

Vavuniya,
16th September, 2015

His Excellency Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
Your Excellency,

We the priests and religious from North and East would like to express our concern that the accountability mechanism to investigate the crimes committed, including the last phase of war, should be an international mechanism. And we believe only an international mechanism can address the crimes committed. Backing a domestic mechanism instead of an international one is a reversal of the stand taken in 2014 by the USA and it is based on the misguided myth that after the two elections held in the island the UN feels confident that the national government can deliver justice to the victims. The victims however feel that there is little capacity or political will to investigate, try and punish the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Since the end of the armed conflict many of the structural causes of the conflict remain intact and indeed, have been exacerbated under this period of ‘victor’s peace’. A diverse range of actors have begun to advance the language and practices of ‘transitional justice’ as a process or toolkit to address the legacy of violent past. If the root causes are not addressed, transitional justice will not bring about genuine and lasting improvements but a performative function.

Sri Lanka has a dismal history of seeking justice for the victims via appointing commissions of inquiry and there has been no accountability of any kind domestically for any past violations. Neither has there been any successful domestic initiative that involved an international component – the Independent International Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP)- was a failure because of its lack of independence and witness protection and the climate of impunity that prevails in the island. This climate of impunity was reinforced when former Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka was awarded Field Marshal – the highest award possible – given to him for his gallantry and service during the last phase of war. Also with the recent appointment of Major General Jegath Dias to chief of staff, Sri Lanka Army despite the allegations against Major General Dias which have been in the public domain for several years. In 2011, human rights groups informed the German and Swiss prosecutors of Dias’s alleged responsibility for war crimes. At the time, Dias was serving as Deputy Ambassador to Germany, Switzerland, and Vatican State. Later that year, in September 2011, the Office of the Attorney General in Switzerland announced that it would launch a criminal investigation against Dias if he returned to Switzerland*, by which time Dias had been recalled to Sri Lanka. Further, in 2013, the United States rejected Dias’s application to participate in a joint military training held in Australia, due to “accountability issues.”     Read More

A strong report, let’s make it count

Sep 16, 2015

Today, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released its long awaited report into human rights violations in Sri Lanka 2002-2011.

• You can read a summary of the report here
• You can read the full report here
• You can read our media guide to the report here

This marks the end of a long struggle by victims and survivors – many thousands of whom gave testimony to the investigation at great personal risk – for international recognition of the abuses that they have endured

Yet it is also the beginning of another, even more important chapter – one that will begin to be written in the next few weeks when members of the Human Rights Council sit down to discuss the report and propose the concrete action that must follow.

We are pleased to report that the robust findings and recommendations of the report offer a clear and credible roadmap for those next steps, both in terms of satisfying survivor demands for justice and for addressing the root causes of patterns of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

Among its key findings, the report:

• Establishes that War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity were likely committed by both the government, the LTTE and paramilitary groups, and that there is sufficient evidence to warrant criminal investigations against specific individuals.
• Finds that enforced disappearance, sexual violence and acts of torture have been committed on a systematic and widespread scale by government security forces.
• Identifies a broad set of obstacles to accountability, including the absence of judicial independence, the lack of adequate witness protection systems, and the inadequacy of the domestic legal framework.

Among its key recommendations, the report proposes:

• The creation of a “hybrid special court” to address allegations of human rights violations, integrating international judges and prosecutors, mandated to try war crimes and crimes against humanity and with its own witness protection programme (recommendation 20).
• The establishment of a fully-fledged OHCHR country presence to monitor the human rights situation and ongoing monitoring by the UN Human Rights Council (recommendation 3, 39).
• The disbandment of the Presidential Commission on Missing Persons (recommendation 25).
• The introduction of vetting procedures to Sri Lankan security forces engaged in UN peacekeeping programmes (recommendation 35).
• The use of Universal Jurisdiction by third party states in order to investigate and prosecute those allegedly responsible for violations (recommendation 36).

The resonance between many of the report’s recommendations and the survivor demands laid out in our recent report is a powerful indictment of its strength.  But, given their divergence from the government of Sri Lanka’s current position, as well as recent comments by the US, they also point to the very serious challenge ahead.

As we wrote last month, what is now required is a strategy for closing that gap. Given the Sri Lanka government’slacklustre response to today’s report, it is now incumbent on the international community to take the lead on such a strategy. They must either push the Government of Sri Lanka to go further, or go further themselves.

The first step will be to ensure that the imminent resolution on Sri Lanka is as strong as it can be. That is something that will take serious courage, political capital, and willingness for change.

To throw your weight behind that call – and to urge the international community not to ignore the demands of survivors – please sign our petition today.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MUST ACT ON CALL FOR A HYBRID JUSTICE PROCESS - UN REPORT ON SRI LANKA

UN human rights chief, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein

September 16, 2015

Sri Lanka cannot deliver accountability alone, says Freedom from Torture.

Freedom from Torture, the UK-based human rights organisation, welcomes the report of the UN investigation on Sri Lanka to which the charity gave extensive forensic evidence.

Sonya Sceats, Director of Advocacy and Policy at Freedom from Torture, says:

"Today the UN human rights chief has rightly concluded that Sri Lanka's domestic courts are ill-equipped to prosecute the heinous international crimes exposed by the UN investigation.

"The ball is now firmly in the court of the Human Rights Council. It would be unthinkable for member states to backtrack on the recommendation of their own inquiry for a justice process with strong international participation through a hybrid court.

"Sri Lankan torture survivors in treatment with us are adamant that they cannot trust a purely domestic process and will take comfort from the High Commissioner's warning that there must not be a replay of past broken promises. Any process that fails to win the confidence of survivors, including from the Tamil minority, is doomed to fail and may set back the common cause of reconciliation."

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Background

The UN Human Rights Council commissioned the investigation in March 2014, to cover the Sri Lankan civil war (2002-9), including the final bloody weeks in May 2009, and the post-war period up to 15 November 2011.

Freedom from Torture is one of the largest torture rehabilitation centres in the world and has received almost 800 referrals for Sri Lankans in the last three years, more than for any other nationality. The charity submitted extensive forensic evidence to UN investigators of ongoing torture in Sri Lanka since the end of the war.

Over the coming weeks the Human Rights Council will consider the UN's report and agree a new resolution on Sri Lanka. It has already been announced that this resolution will be adopted by consensus, meaning that agreement has to be reached with the government of Sri Lanka.

The overall shape of an accountability process for abuses exposed by the UN investigation has already emerged as one of the most divisive issues. Sri Lanka insists that it will run a domestic process, but survivors of torture in treatment with Freedom from Torture and representatives of victim and survivor communities inside Sri Lanka have made it clear that only a strongly internationalised process can advance the common cause of reconciliation. Today the UN added its weight to this call.

UN Human Rights Council: General Debate following the Oral Update by the High Commissioner

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 

Thank you, Mr. President. The High Commissioner’s much-anticipated investigative report on Sri Lanka will play a vital role in informing international consideration of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, minimum benchmarks required to ensure a credible justice and accountability process, and the follow-up required. Three elements are crucial to a credible response from this Council:

First, the resolution will need to set out concrete benchmarks for an effective justice and accountability mechanism, including a majority of international judges in an independent system, an independent international prosecutor, and measures to ensure that the applicable law for the mechanism will include customary international humanitarian law, notably command responsibility.

Second, the resolution will need to engage with the High Commissioner’s recommendations regarding national reforms needed, including repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, ensuring detainees are not subject to torture or ill-treatment, and measures to address enforced disappearances.

Third, it is crucial that the Council remain seized of the matter, and make provision for regular reporting and updates until such time as the concerns that led to the creation of the OHCHR investigation have been addressed and have delivered genuine justice.

The families of Sri Lanka’s dead and disappeared have waited years and in some cases decades for justice. This Council must not fail them.

In Burundi, state repression and restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly increased sharply in advance of and since the 2015 elections. Human Rights Watch documented numerous instances in which Burundian intelligence officials and police arbitrarily arrested, ill-treated and in some cases tortured suspected opponents and other detainees. However, many of the abuses outside the capital remain unreported due to the government’s closure of Burundi’s main private radio stations and the risks faced by human rights defenders and journalists. There has also been an alarming increase in targeted killings of opposition party members, as well as ruling party members, in recent weeks. In this context, we therefore urge your Office to start to report publicly and regularly on the human rights situation in Burundi, based on the information collected by your Country Office.

Human Rights Watch shares the concerns expressed by the High Commissioner on China’s new Law on National Security, as well as other proposed legislation that cast criticism of the government as state security concerns. Between July and September, the government arbitrarily detained more than 250 lawyers and activists. About 20 remain in custody, most of them in secret locations without access to lawyers or family members and many beyond the legal limits allowed, and contrary to President Xi’s vow to promote “the rule of law.” Finally, today marks the second anniversary of the arrest of activist Cao Shunli at the Beijing International Airport as she was intending to board her flight to Geneva just weeks before China’s UPR. We urge the High Commissioner to call for an investigation into the legal basis for her detention and of her subsequent death on 14 March 2014.