Almost simultaneous to the releasing of UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s report on Sri Lanka mandated by Geneva resolution 30/1 on Friday, the proponents of a follow up resolution on Sri Lanka led by the United Kingdom released its working draft to the member states.
The much awaited UN Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’s report, on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, was released by his office on Friday morning, Geneva time. In the report he had observed, ‘There is a visible change of policy direction in addressing past human rights violations. The Government has advanced on constitutional reforms and showcased some positive developments on the broader human rights agenda.’
The follow up resolution that is being mooted and still in its infancy, will go through 3-4 rounds of informal discussions to choose its ‘tone’ and ‘language’. The first round of discussions, convened by the UK, is scheduled on Thursday next week. The countries and blocs mainly involved in the process are UK, EU, US and Spain. Sri Lanka is expected to co-sponsor this resolution but a final decision is yet to be announced, an authoritative sources told the Sunday Observer.
Going by the working draft, Sri Lanka is in a position to secure two full years to fulfil the remainder of its undertakings,’ senior diplomatic sources said. However, he added, this original draft will undergo significant changes before it is finalised.
The original working draft of the follow up resolution reads, ’At its 34thSession, on 22 March 2017, the Human Rights Council decided, without vote, to request the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to assess the implementation of resolution 30/1, and to present a written update to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh Session, and a comprehensive report followed by a discussion on the implementation of resolution 30/1 at its fortieth Session.’
India is expected to play a big role in choosing the language in the resolution. Since 2012, it has helped Sri Lanka tweak the language to the latter’s ‘benefit’ except in 2013.
However, pressure will be mounted on India to distance itself from a goodwill role. A protest was held last Tuesday in Colombo allegedly by relatives of Tamil victims of war demanding India and other countries for tough measures on Sri Lanka. The protestors held placards that read ‘India Stop Betraying Tamils’.
The sources said, the HRC members have two and a half weeks to fine tune the resolution before March 22, when it will be moved at the Human Rights Council. The 34th Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva is now being held from February 27 to March 24.
The objective of the resolution is to ask for more time for Sri Lanka to implement fully the commitments it undertook under the Geneva 30/1 resolution and the recommendations in the report of the Human Rights High Commissioner. The resolution is expected to support Sri Lanka’s call but not without packing some tough conditions to keep the government under grip.
The diplomatic sources said, ‘the bailout will be that we undertake to implement all the recommendations in the High Commissioner’s report.’
His recommendations (carried in full in our Op –Ed column) include,
* Presenting a comprehensive time bound strategy and plan to implement commitments in present and past reports of the High Commissioner on transitional justice,
* Embracing the (controversial) report of the Consultation Task Force (Manouri Muttetuwegama report) which also emphasized the need to have international judges and prosecutors,
* Invite OHCHR (Office of the High Commisisoner for Human Rights) to establish a full fledged country presence (to monitor human rights and implementation of recommendations),
* Accede to the additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions, and to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,
* Enact legislation to criminalize war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and enforced disappearances without statutes of limitation, and
* Adopt legislation establishing a hybrid court, which should include international judges, defence lawyers, prosecutors and investigators.
The United Kingdom and the European Union have already expressed their willingness to give more time to Sri Lanka in the backdrop of the ‘good progress’ shown by the country.
British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Alok Sharma speaking at the high level segment of the HRC sessions on February 28 welcomed Foreign Minister Samaraweera’s constructive engagement in Geneva.
He said,” We must give Sri Lanka time to fully implement the October 2015 resolution and post-conflict measures required to embed stability, reconciliation and justice.”
An authoritative official source confirmed, the new resolution will reiterate the necessity of hybrid courts in the country’s transitional justice mechanism to address the ‘trust deficit’ as emphasized in High Commissioner Zeid’s latest report which came out last Friday.
At the first informal meeting on the follow up resolution, the draft document will be released to the members in attendance. They will be invited to choose the specific language to be used in the draft with a deadline to submit proposals. This will be the stage where compromises are made on what is to be included and excluded in the resolution, to determine the language of the text.
The second meeting will take place 24 hours after the language deadline. A third and fourth meetings are held if needed, to further discuss the content of the resolution. The final draft should be submitted 24 hours before the agenda item is being taken for action on March 22.
A few days before (Feb 25) the High Commissioner’s report was released, the international rights body, Human Rights Watch issued a set of proposals for a follow up resolution on Sri Lanka. The report was addressed to the members of the Council. The HRW highlighted, at a minimum, the proposed resolution should:
Reaffirm resolution 30/1 and underline the importance of the commitments therein being met in full;
Welcome the High Commissioner’s report (once available) and call on the government of Sri Lanka to implement its recommendations;
Welcome the government’s creation of the Consultation Task Force, the extensive national consultations, and the successful completion of its report, and encourage the government to give appropriate consideration to implementing its recommendations;
Acknowledge the government’s cooperation with UN Special Procedures and treaty bodies, welcome their reports and encourage implementation of their recommendations;
Acknowledge the challenges facing the government, and the need for substantial progress in key areas (notably transitional justice mechanisms, security sector reform; land returns; and the ending of military involvement in civilian activities);
Call on the government of Sri Lanka to develop a timetable for implementing the recommendations in the previous resolution and in the High Commissioner’s report, taking into account the need for an integrated approach to reforms and transitional justice, rather than prioritizing one part of the process over others;
Maintain OHCHR reporting, and further Human Rights Council engagement, across a suitable timeframe, with opportunities for interim reporting through oral updates and interactive dialogues.
The HRW urged the delegations to press for the inclusion of these elements in the resolution. Most of these proposals have already made their way to the High Commisioner Zeid’s recommendations in his latest report.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera who attended the High Level segment of the 34th HRC sessions to brief the Council on Sri Lanka’s progress met the new UN Secretary General, Antonio Gueterres, on his first day in Geneva.
He also met UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Prince Zeid, Special Coordinator of the Office of Global Justice of the U.S. State Department, Todd F. Buchwald, Spanish Foreign Minister, Alfonso María Dastis Quecedo and British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Alok Sharma.
On the sidelines, he also briefed the Civil Society based in Geneva and elsewhere including Tamil diaspora groups, which play a crucial role in the Human Rights council proceedings.
A debate is expected on the report of the High Commissioner when it will be tabled on March 22 but the follow up resolution, if Sri Lanka agrees to co-sponsor, will be passed without a vote.
The resolution 30/1, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka was passed on October 1, 2015 also without a vote.