Sri Lanka was placed high on the agenda at the opening session of the UN’s premier human rights body, as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about “grave breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law” in Sri Lanka, while regional and international human rights groups called for an independent international human rights monitoring mechanism, during the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

FORUM-ASIA issued a press release along with the excerpts of the address by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Louise Arbour and the oral intervention by Ms. Sunila Abeysekera, Executive Director of INFORM, Sri Lanka, on behalf of FORUM-ASIA and Pax Romana.Sri Lanka is facing one of the worst human rights crises in the world today. Since the escalation of the conflict in April 2006 to mid July 2006 approximately 1343 people, more than half of them civilians, have been killed. Civilians have been the victims of targeted and indiscriminate killings by both the security forces and the LTTE. The disregard for human rights and humanitarian norms is exemplified in the killing of 17 workers from Action Contra la Faim in Mutur, in the east of Sri Lanka

The conflict has also resulted in a humanitarian disaster. According to the UNHCR, over 200,000 persons from the north and east of the island have been displaced and over 10,000 Sri Lankans have fled to India as refugees. In the areas affected by the conflict, many thousands have been deprived of adequate food and other basic needs. Humanitarian agencies have been restricted their right of access to conflict-affected areas.

Despite the Ceasefire Agreement between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE in February 2002, human rights abuses such as extrajudicial killings, child recruitment, abductions, disappearances and attacks on minorities have escalated. There are serious allegations against both the government and the LTTE in this regard. Investigations into human rights abuses have been stalled due to lack of political will or lack of evidence, reflecting both the prevailing culture of impunity and the climate of fear and insecurity.

The legitimacy of national institutions mandated with human rights protection such as the National Human Rights Commission have also been undermined.

The UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial executions, the European Parliament, leading international human rights organisations and many Sri Lankan organisations have called for the creation of an independent international human rights monitoring mechanism.

It is only an independent international human rights monitoring mechanism that has the full backing of the UN system, especially of the UN Human Rights Council and of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which can release the civilians of Sri Lanka from this cycle of violence and violations of human rights.

For a fuller report of these issues, please see the excerpts of the address by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Louise Arbour and the oral intervention by Ms Sunila Abeysekera, Executive Director of INFORM, Sri Lanka, on behalf of FORUM-ASIA and Pax Romana.

For further details, please contact Ruki Fernando (+66-4-0991538 / [email protected]).