International Community Has Pivotal
Role To Play To Persuade LTTE
To Negotiate Peace With Government
Statement made by
Ambassador Palihakkara at
The UN Human Rights Commission
in Geneva
Mr. Chairman, it has been Sri Lanka’s consistent policy to voluntarily
share with the Commission and interested delegations as well as NGOs,
information concerning measures taken by my government to promote and
protect human rights in accordance with our constitutional and treaty
obligations. This has been a long standing policy to which the people
and the Government of my country are deeply committed, despite the fact
that our openness is often misused by the propaganda lobbyists of terror
groups, who continue to indulge in separatist violence. This policy
is also an extension of Sri Lankas parliamentary tradition of accountability
and the respect for the rule of law observed through the un-interrupted
exercise of the universal adult franchise for a period of over half
a century.
My statement today is in pursuance of this policy of openness and co-operation.
It is also a practical demonstration of the position advocated by the
Asian Group of countries that voluntary co-operation between member
States and the Commission is both desirable and feasible. We also believe
that this is an aspect which will be beneficial to the on-going exercise
within the Commission with a view to exploring co-operative ways and
means of ensuring effective norm setting, monitoring and the observance
of human rights.
Sri Lanka has continued to discharge its human rights treaty commitments
as we have become party to 14 international instruments including the
first Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, which entered into force for Sri
Lanka early last year. We would soon be commencing a dialogue with the
Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol in the course of
this year. On an invitation extended by the Government, the Working
Group on Disappearances visited Sri Lanka late last year. Their report
is before the Commission. All sections of the people, Government and
civil society organizations in Sri Lanka had an open and free interaction
with the Working Group. They discussed all issues relevant to the Working
Group’s mandate, effective action taken by the Government and the NGO
community in Sri Lanka to address and redress the relevant concerns.
The Working Group had unrestricted access to visit all parts of Sri
Lanka. The report of the Working Group has recognised that whilst there
are residual problems with regard to laws delays, prosecutions have
been launched against offenders. International NGO’s and foreign experts
have been invited to observe judicial inquiries, prosecutions and criminal
forensic investigations. After the completion of one such complex forensic
investigation the expert observer reported that local investigators
had attended to the investigations in compliance with international
norms, standards and procedures. It is a matter for record that as a
result of deterrent action taken, substantiated allegations of disappearances
are virtually non-existent now. Both the thematic report as well as
the Mission report note this. Over 4000 allegations have been clarified
as a result of the action taken by the relevant authorities, pursuant
to the three Commission reports which were published in September 1997.
The relevant agency in Sri Lanka has already begun forwarding to the
Secretariat, data concerning the cases clarified. This is indeed an
example of voluntary co-operation with the international human rights
mechanisms. The recommendations of the Working Group will receive the
most careful consideration of the authorities in Sri Lanka.
We have also decided to invite a Human Rights Treaty Body to visit
Sri Lanka during the course of this year.
Sri Lanka will be submitting its periodic reports under the CRC and
CERD this year. We submitted our report under CEDAW last November.
Our National Human Rights Commission has completed three years of work.
Its membership was reconstituted a few days ago and the Commission plans
to further develop its work programme. The Government has provided an
enhanced budgetary allocation to expand and intensify its activities
both in quantitative and qualitative terms, The Commission continued
its detention safeguard programmes, including visits and also examination
of fundamental rights cases referred to it. Being one of the earliest
Commissions established in the region, we have continued to promote
networking arrangements with similar institutions at the sub regional
and regional levels. Our national Commission also had the pleasure of
hosting an important meeting of the Asia/Pacific Forum in Kandy, Sri
Lanka last year. It was a ground-breaking regional event concerning
vital cooperation between NGOs and the human rights machinery at the
global, regional and national levels. The contributions from the very
active NGO community in the country was instrumental in making this
effort a success. My Government’s own values very much the contributions
made by NGOs to the Government’s own efforts of promoting and protecting
human rights under exceedingly difficult conditions brought about by
an armed group whose agenda and methods have remained outside the democratic
process. We thank the High Commissioner’s Office for providing substantive
and administrative support for the Forum initiative.
We have made available to interested delegations and to organizations,
information concerning the Government’s efforts to investigate and prosecute
identified offenders, whether they belong to security forces or others,
whenever there was evidence that our constitutional provisions or treaty
obligations to protest human rights have been violated. Information
is also available with regard to humanitarian assistance and essential
supplies provided to people in areas affected by terrorism in the North
and the East. We have an extensive programme to provide humanitarian
assistance including provision of free food supplies to the affected
areas despite the fact the terror group, the LTTE continues to siphon
off a substantial part of these supplies for its own use. A large number
of international and national organizations and NGOs are operating in
the areas assisting and complimenting the efforts of the Government.
Central to the many facets of the Government’s efforts to promote and
protect human rights is its initiative to find a political solution
to the ethnic issues in Sri Lanka. In the face of the position taken
by the armed group, the LTTE, which is the only Tamil group that has
remained outside the democratic political process, the Government decided
to use the good offices of a foreign Government to facilitate a dialogue.
The President of Sri Lanka has reiterated the Government’s commitment
to pursue negotiations towards a political solution, even as this armed
group attempted to assassinate her. Despite the fact that this group
has continued indiscriminate terror and violence, as recently as 10th
March in Colombo, the Government, the Opposition and other democratic
Tamil parties represented in Parliament have firmly committed themselves
to pursue this negotiating process to a consensual conclusion. The democratic
forces have thus shown to the LTTE that it cannot bomb its way out of
the negotiating process blaming someone else. The Government envisages
the on going discussions among the parties represented in Parliament
both within the Government and in the Opposition to be completed very
soon. A democratic consensus on constitutional reforms aimed at unprecedented
devolution of power will then be available as a framework to negotiate
a political solution. Intensive discussions are presently underway within
and among the political parties to forge a bipartisan consensus on substance
and modalities of such a political solution. There is also a groundswell
of international opinion that terrorist violence should cease forthwith
to facilitate this democratic negotiation process as mentioned by several
speakers today and yesterday.
The restraint shown by the people of Sri Lanka in the face of terrorist
violence, is the strongest indication that the peace process is on track
provided the perpetrators of terrorist violence do not close the present
window of opportunity for a negotiated political solution, - a solution
in which the multi-ethnic democratic character and territorial integrity
of Sri Lanka are preserved.
Years of efforts made by all democratic parties and the peace loving
people of Sri Lanka would be brought to nothing if the LTTE continues
to find a pretext to stay out of the negotiating process as they have
consistently done in the past. The Government of Sri Lanka hopes that
the recent reports appearing in Some partisan publications concerning
‘preconditions’ for discussions do not signify a reply of a negative
trend which was all too familiar in the past negotiating efforts. In
order to persuade the LTTE to negotiate in good faith, rather than to
talk peace abroad, and to wage war at home, the international community
has a vital role to play by giving practical effect to the International
Convention for the Suppression of Financing Terrorism, that was adopted
by the General Assembly last year.
Mr. Chairman, in my statement to this Commission last year, I shared
with the Commission my Government’s resolute efforts, towards the promotion
and protection of human rights as well as its continued peace making
endeavours even in the midst of a ruthless campaign of violence and
terror by LTTE. At that time we told the Commission and the international
community that the people and the Government of Sri Lanka who have cherished
democracy, and the universal adult franchise for over half a century,
see no means other than democratic political negotiations to bring about
the necessary constitutional reform that can address the root causes
of violence. One year on, that negotiation process is very much alive.
The synergies of national and international efforts, we hope, will propel
this process to its fruition. My Government is determined to see that
it will be the case sooner than later. Last year I also said; that Government
was determined to pursue this path demanded by its electorate. This
year, the Sri Lankan electorate has reaffirmed, this course of action
when it renewed our President’s mandate for peace making, by re-electing
her. Terrorism or violence, however, ruthless or tenacious it may be,
shall not be allowed to reverse this process.
Geneva
30th March 2000
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