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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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