UN passes war crime resolution

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) yesterday adopted a resolution calling on Sri Lanka to “credibly investigate” alleged abuses committed towards the end of the country’s bitter civil war. The US-sponsored resolution was adopted by the UNHRC with 24 countries voting in favor, 15 against and 8 abstentions at the UNHRC session in Geneva yesterday. China and Russia were among the countries that voted against the resolution. The resolution asks the government to explain how it addresses alleged violations of international humanitarian law and how Sri Lanka would implement the recommendations of an internal inquiry into the war. It also encourages the UN human rights office to provide Sri Lanka with advice and assistance and for the government to accept the advice The resolution means that Sri Lanka “needs to live up to its promises like the one made in 2008 to the UNHRC when it agreed to amending the constitution to  allow the establishment of  independent judicial, police and other related commissions,” said Dr Jehan Perera, Executive Director of National Peace Council. According to Ruki Fernando, from the Law and Society Trust –a national advocacy and research body – the resolution was a wake-up call for the government. “It’s significant that even countries that supported the government in Geneva in 2009, particularly India and many in Africa and Latin America now feel  the government has not moved forward enough, ” he said. The government expressed disappointment at the vote. "It is a matter of great satisfaction to us that 15 countries voted with Sri Lanka, despite the intensity of pressure, in a variety of forms, exerted on them," said foreign minister G L Peiris in a statement yesterday. Both government forces and Tamil rebels have been accused of abuses. Rights groups estimate up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the war but the government estimates the death toll at around 9,000.   Related reports Calls for UN probe ‘violate sovereignty’Thousands protest against UNHRCPolitics must not stop reconciliation