Statement by Sri Lanka

delivered by

H.E. Mr. Ravinatha P. Aryasinha Ambassador / Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka

to the 25th Session of the Human Ri hts !oun"i#

27 March 2014

$he Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the %nited &ations and other 'nternationa# (r ani)ations in *eneva Mr. President,
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Anyone unaware of the ground situation in Sri Lanka walking into the Human Rights Council today could not be blamed for thinking that Sri Lanka is the most troubled lace on this lanet. Howe!er, as you are aware, Sri Lanka is clearly not an urgent situation that warrants the Council"s continued attention. #raft resolution HRC$%&$L.'$Re!.' is the third consecuti!e resolution resented by the (S against Sri Lanka in this Council in the ast three years. )t is resented without the consent of Sri Lanka as the country concerned. )t is resented in s ite of Sri Lanka"s continuous engagement with the (* and the Council as acknowledged by countries across regions. )t is resented in s ite of continued and tangible rogress demonstrated by Sri Lanka on the ground in addressing issues related to the reconciliation rocess including accountability, within the framework of Sri Lanka"s domestic reconciliation rocess. +i!e years since the end of terrorism and the conclusion of the conflict howe!er, un recedented attention is being aid to Sri Lanka within this Council and on its sidelines. Many countries ha!e ,uestioned and continue to ,uestion the real moti!es and im erati!es behind what is clearly oliticised action against Sri Lanka in the Council. )t is an established rinci le of )nternational Law that arties seeking remedy for a ercei!ed grie!ance must e-haust all ossible a!enues within the domestic .urisdiction, rior to seeking redress in the international arena. /herefore, the State where the alleged !iolation occurred should ha!e an o ortunity to redress it by its own means, and e-haust the framework of its domestic system, before recourse to an international mechanism. )t is ironic that with e-tensi!e domestic mechanisms in lace, a resolution has been brought before the Council. /his

amounts to an infringement of state so!ereignty and outcome of domestic rocesses.

re0.udgment of the

/hus, the draft resolution before this Council, if ado ted will not only constitute a serious breach of )nternational Law, but create a dangerous recedent in the conduct of international relations within the established global order of so!ereign States and could the (* Charter. Mr. President, /he determination and com ulsion of the ro onents of the draft resolution to consistently act against the interests of the Sri Lankan 1o!ernment"s demonstration of continued serious concern for my 1o!ernment. eo le des ite the rogress in the reconciliation Singling out Sri Lanka for ose a gra!e threat to the so!ereignty and inde endence of Member States of the (nited *ations, which is enshrined in

rocess, as well as its commitment to coo eration with the (* is a matter of dis ro ortionate and undue attention in this Council, where such action is unwarranted, is a !iolation of the basic rinci les which guide engagement among states.

Mr. President, /he draft resolution has also shifted the arametres of the current draft from re!ious resolutions '2$% and %%$', to incor orate new issues which essentially remain at the le!el of general allegations, both unsubstantiated and uncorroborated. /his is e!ident in the change in title itself, which now has the addition of 3human rights", resumably with a !iew to e- anding the sco e of
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the resolution from the ast to the resent and the future, with no rationale to do so and in order to the ser!e the !ested interests of a few. Such arbitrary shifting of arametres is unacce table. Mr. President, )n terms of content, the draft resolution is highly intrusi!e and oliticised, and does not gi!e due regard or recognition to significant rogress made by Sri Lanka in different as ects of the reconciliation rocess, or to the domestic mechanisms underway. /here is e!en distortion of s ecific e!ents, such as the incident in 4eliweriya which is ro.ected as an attack against unarmed rotestors when the High Commissioner"s Re ort itself ro.ects it differently, and has acknowledged that the rotest 3had turned !iolent". /here is also no basis for the erroneous reference to election0related !iolence and intimidation in relation to the *orthern Pro!incial Council, gi!en the ositi!e re orts on the conduct of the election filed by international election obser!ers. /he outcome of the election itself which resulted in the /amil *ational Alliance 5/*A6 arty garnering 789 of the !ote is testimony to its democratic conduct. /here are also allegations in the draft to 3se-ual and gender based !iolence", re orts of intimidation and retaliation of ci!il society, !iolence against religious minorities, which are not substantiated by a!ailable facts or statistics. S ecific factual information refuting such allegations was ro!ided by the 1o!ernment in its :Comments; to the High Commissioner"s Re ort, where it was also ointed out that there is no s ecific information ro!ided in her Re ort to substantiate such allegations. Sri Lanka has <ero tolerance for se-ual and gender based !iolence, and has taken and will continue to take concrete action when com laints are made to law enforcement authorities. Similarly, Sri Lanka has a !ibrant ci!il society as is illustrated by their artici ation in successi!e
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Council sessions in 1ene!a including the current session. /he Council also witnessed their acti!e artici ation in informal negotiations on the draft resolution. Similarly, in all re orted incidents on laces of worshi of all four religions, the 1o!ernment has taken rom t action to in!estigate such incidents and take .udicial action. /he 1o!ernment has not condoned any of these incidents or attacks at any oint as is demonstrated through e!idence. /he ro onents of the resolution ha!e chosen not to recognise that the *ational Plan of Action 5*PoA6 for the im lementation of the recommendations of the LLRC has been formulated to address com rehensi!ely the recommendations contained in the LLRC Re ort. /he *PoA is sufficiently broad in sco e, and also fle-ible in addressing issues as deemed necessary and rele!ant. /he re,uest to further broaden the sco e of the LLRC *PoA to ade,uately address all elements of the LLRC Re ort is therefore being made without ade,uate analysis of the contours of the *PoA. Mr. President, /he #raft resolution is also artisan in making a

s ecial reference to the *orthern Pro!incial Council when in effect the '=th Amendment accords a constitutionally en.oined arity of status to all ro!incial councils. /his > erati!e Paragra h is also inconsistent with the Preambular Paragra h which reaffirms that all Sri Lankans are entitled to the full en.oyment of their rights regardless of religion, belief or ethnicity, thus highlighting the contradictions inherent to the draft. /oday in Sri Lanka, the elected re resentati!es of the /amil eo le ha!e a !oice not only at the Centre but also at the ro!incial le!el, the /*A being the go!erning arty in the *orthern Pro!incial Council. /he !ery fact that elections
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ha!e been held in the *orth and the /*A has gained ower demonstrates that Sri Lanka is !ery much a !ibrant, functioning democracy. ?ust as the /*A, other sections of the Sri Lankan olity, be it Sinhala, /amil, Muslim or from other communities, also ha!e a !oice, although it may be a !oice which is not heard in this Council. Such a multi licity of !iews is the nature of a truly luralistic society and a functioning democracy. /he attem t in the draft resolution to coerci!ely introduce alternati!e arallel rocesses and mechanisms of truth seeking which remain unclarified and ill defined, will be counter0 roducti!e. Most im ortantly, the allegation of the absence of a credible domestic rocess to address issues of accountability is not borne out by e!idence, gi!en the range of rocesses under im lementation within the framework of the reconciliation rocess, including the LLRC, of which this Council has been briefed in detail by my delegation. My Minister of @-ternal Affairs in his statement to the High Le!el Segment of the current session elaborated in detail on the reconciliation rocess with s ecific reference to rocesses and mechanisms underway. Mr. President, 4e are also sur rised by the rocedural anomalies and irregularities committed through this draft resolution, as !oiced by many countries cross regionally during informal negotiations on the te-t, as well as the factual inaccuracies contained therein. /he draft if ado ted will set a dangerous recedent allowing some states to by ass the established method of work and engagement of the Council, thus bringing the credentials and legitimacy of the Council into ,uestion.

/he draft resolution in its key > erati!e Paragra h !ests the >ffice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with an in!estigati!e mandate in !iolation of the HRC resolution A8$%&' and the )B ackage. )n addition to not ha!ing the mandate to conduct an in!estigation, the >HCHR also does not ha!e the ca acity or the resources to do so. /his > erati!e Paragra h also contains lack of clarity in reference to 3rele!ant e- erts", thus dece ti!ely o ening the door to third arty elements in the guise of an in!estigation by the >HCHR. /he reference to an international in!estigation mechanism is clear though crafted in ambiguous language which could be o en to inter retation. /he budgetary im lications in the im lementation of the mechanism en!isaged in the draft resolution are also of interest, considering that mandated acti!ities need to be carried out through the regular budget. S ecificity of mandated acti!ity is therefore a rere,uisite with regard to the budget. Additionally, this > erati!e Paragra h which re,uests the >HCHR to conduct an inde endent in!estigation is mutually inconsistent with > erati!e Paragra h % which calls u on the 1o!ernment of Sri Lanka to conduct an inde endent and credible in!estigation into alleged !iolations. /his again shows u contained in this draft. Mr. President, By a deliberate failure to s ecify a time eriod in > erati!e Paragra h '8 5b6, the draft resolution may confine its ambit between %88% and %882, by ado ting a narrower inter retation of the eriod co!ered by the LLRC, thus com letely e-cluding the atrocities and !iolations of international human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the L//@ rior to %88%. /hough the mandate of the LLRC refers to a eriod between %' +ebruary %88% and '2 May %882, it may be noted that the Commission in its Re ort states, that the facts and circumstances which led to the failure of the Cease +ire Agreement o erationali<ed in +ebruary %88%, ha!e also been considered in the re aration
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the inherent contradictions

of the Re ort. /he Commission recogni<ed in aragra h '.%% of Cha ter ' of the LLRC Re ort that the causes underlying the grie!ances of different communities had its genesis in the eriod rior to the timeframe referred to in the warrant. /he Commission accordingly ro!ided a degree of fle-ibility to the re resenters in this regard. )n the circumstances, it is contended that > erati!e Paragra h '8 5b6 of the draft resolution as it is resently constituted is structured in such a artisan manner as to e-clude the alleged atrocities committed o!er the entire duration of the conflict. Mr. President, /his !iolation of established methods of work of the Council, as well as the deliberate lack of clarity of language in key > erati!e Paragra hs set a dangerous recedent with wider rele!ance to all member and obser!er states of this Council. )f the Council is to maintain its credibility, it is incumbent u on all members to take note of such rocedural irregularities and halt their continuation through the clear re.ection of resolutions such as this. /he tra.ectory that has emerged with regard to action on Sri Lanka in the Council reflects the reconcei!ed, olitici<ed and re.udicial agenda which has been relentlessly ursued with regard to the country. )t may be recalled that .ust a week following the defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka, on %A th May %882, at the ''th S ecial Session on Sri Lanka, the High Commissioner in the first instance, called for :an inde endent and credible international in!estigation;, which was subse,uently reiterated at regular inter!als. Mr. President, /he irony is that measures such as this coerci!e and non0consensual resolution, wholly ignores the sentiments of those other sections of the Sri Lankan eo le,
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and their legitimate as irations with regard to eace and reconciliation. )t is recisely for this reason Mr. President, that the rescri ti!e solutions ad!ocated in this draft resolution, would be unsustainable and olitically untenable. )t is in this conte-t that we are disa ointed to obser!e that a key im erati!e

dri!ing this resolution is not genuine concern for the welfare of the Sri Lankan eo le but electoral com ulsions of some States at the behest of certain e-treme elements with links to the L//@. Such biases and e-treme ideologies ignore the ground realities, the legitimate as irations of the Sri Lankan conflict and consolidate eace. Before this Council takes a decision on the draft resolution, ) wish to a eal to eo le, and tri!iali<e the rice aid by all Sri Lankans to defeat a =80year brutal terrorist

the conscience of the member States. Sri Lanka has embarked u on a ainstaking rocess of reconciliation and nation building, & years since the end of the brutal conflict lasting almost = decades, waged by the L//@. )rres ecti!e of the outcome of today"s decision , ) wish to categorically state that the democratically elected 1o!ernment of Sri Lanka, and indeed all eace lo!ing eo le in my country will ne!er countenance any return of armed conflict or terrorism. /herefore, Sri Lanka categorically and unreser!edly re.ects this draft resolution, as it challenges the so!ereignty and inde endence of a Member State of the (*, !iolates the rinci les of international law, based on rofoundly flawed remises, and is inimical to the interests of the eo le of Sri Lanka. ) wish to reiterate the 1o!ernment"s firm resol!e and commitment to continue its ongoing rocess of reconciliation and nation building, which is solely based
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on the best interests of the eo le of Sri Lanka, and is a home grown rocess. Let me assure the Council that Sri Lanka will remain steadfast in its consistent osition of coo eration with the international community and the (nited *ations. Mr. President, /he 1o!ernment of Sri Lanka therefore wishes to submit that the draft resolution before this Council today erodes the so!ereignty of the eo le of Sri Lanka and the core !alues of the (* Charter, the (ni!ersal #eclaration on Human Rights and the basic rinci les of law that ostulate e,uality among all eo le. ) therefore re,uest members of the Council to re.ect this resolution by a !ote. /hank you.

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