Human Rights Watch Blames Russia, China Over Sri Lanka
New York based Human Rights Watch blamed Russia and China over the failure by the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Sri Lanka during the war to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Richard Dicker_HRW_CI
Richard Dicker
“While war raged in Sri Lanka, Russia and China’s strong support of the government in Colombo thwarted almost all efforts to even discuss the known horrors committed during the war by both sides,” International Justice Director at HRW Richard Dicker told The Sunday Leader.
“Against this backdrop, referral to the ICC remained a dim hope.”
Meanwhile the government says it advocates negotiations, mediation and other peaceful means to settle internal and global disputes.
Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Dr. Palith Kohona said that countries must be allowed to create their own local mechanisms to consolidate peace, encourage reconciliation and strengthen democratic institutions.
He was speaking during a full day debate at the UN on the Security Council on the International Criminal Court (ICC), Kohona’s office said.
Kohona said that the rule of law must be understood in the context of individual rights, as well as in ensuring the progress of individuals and societies, particularly with the right to development.
“The United Nations could play a crucial, helpful role in domestic compliance with treaty obligations by helping States build capacity. Close cooperation in applying laws nationally, regionally and internationally was vital to address the growing problem of transnational organized crime and terrorism, which threatened global peace and good order.” he said.
Confronting those challenges, Kohona said required close cooperation and capacity-building nationally and regionally, including enforcement by the law.
“Unilateral and selective application of international law rules must be avoided. Sri Lanka had always advocated the settlement of internal and global dispute through negotiation, mediation and other peaceful means. Countries must be allowed to create their own local mechanisms to consolidate peace, encourage reconciliation and strengthen democratic institutions. They must have the much-needed space to begin that restorative process. In such situations, the Organization could address the gaps, taking into account local sensitivities,” he said.
*By Easwaran Rutnam – Courtesy The Sunday Leader
My question for Human Rights Watch is: “Why did you decide that there needed to be a reference to the International Criminal Court only after the tide of war had turned in favour of the government forces, yet never put forward that demand when the Tamil Tigers were in the ascendancy and killing Sri Lankans, including Tamil democrats, with impunity?”
Candidly - October 21, 2012
4:29 am
Candidly,
The reason may be because the Court can prosecute only countries which are members of the United Nations.
Justice - October 21, 2012
10:26 pm
Candidly
International community has been trying for decades at the UN but successive Sri Lankan government have been controlling damage successfully by ”appointing commissions” for decades:
A List of Commissions of Inquiry and Committees Appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka (2006 – 2012), 12 March 2012, http://www.scribd.com/doc/85007346/A-List-of-Commissions-of-Inquiry-and-Committees-Appointed-by-the-Government-of-Sri-Lanka-2006-%E2%80%93-2012
Successive Sri Lankan governments:
Sri Lanka: Twenty years of make-believe. Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry, 11 June 2009, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA37/005/2009/en
eureka - October 22, 2012
2:58 am
Poor HRW sob sob
Mike Hammer - October 21, 2012
8:34 am
HRW could prove its bona fides by pushing for the prosecution of Aunty Adele, (a whining Aussie living in the UK) for child soldier recruitment. Odd that HRW has a huge blind spot regarding these easy targets…
Mango - October 21, 2012
11:41 pm
It is only this Group of Humans that can fight over their own countrymen the enemy to reveal to the world the TRUTH. They too have to be careful lest their Organisations are already infiltrated.
gamini - October 22, 2012
2:53 am
Representative Kohona is simply misleading the international community. The government has no political will to uphold democracy and serve all citizens justice alike: it’s doing everything against this direction:
A.1. enticing opposition MPs to join the government by enlarging the cabinet
2. politicising the Police and the Judiciary
3. attacking the media and human rights activists
………..
B.An Ideology of Reconciliation Cannot be Built Without Basic Ingredients of Democracy and Rule of Law, Dr. Deepika Udagama (Head, Department of Law, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka), 15 August 2012, http://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/post-war-sri-lanka-what-reconciliation-really-means/
……….
C.The retired Chief Justice tells how he malfunctioned in service
D.Conscientious Sinhalese told LLRC how ethnic minorities have been done injustice from the time of indepedence till the present
E. ”But that truth cannot excuse human rights violations that currently afflict the nation as a whole; or for that matter obscure the looming threat of the cultural and political colonisation of the north by the Sinhala Buddhist majority” – Biased and Prejudiced Collection on Sri Lanka, *Gananath Obeyesekere, Economic & Political Weekly, VOL 47 No. 04, 28 January-03 February 2012 (*a Sinhalese Buddhist and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University), http://www.scribd.com/doc/82525102/Biased-and-Prejudiced-Collection-on-Sri-Lanka
If people put Buddhist philosophy in their hearts instead of transferring it into concrete structures filling up the land, we will have peace and prosperity anytime we have the will.
eureka - October 22, 2012
3:17 am
These self appointed watchers of human rights are always asking full pound of blood from Sri Lanka … When there are many serious and more violent human rights abuses are occurring in the world on daily basis, these socalled human right watchers have never looked beyond Sri Lanka … They are hooked and glued their eyes to Sri Lanka where most ruthless terror activities were played for long thirty years … They never let Sri Lanka to breath freely …
It is interesting to see who are funding these self appointed human right watchers … I’m not surprised at all to see the LTTE rump behind the top hierachy of these watchers of human rights …
Make a living out of miseries of the world is very old business …
Bruno Umbato - October 22, 2012
5:01 am
The Rasia and the China are the close friends of Sri Lanka as they were the main arm suppliers of the country.Sri Lanka has become a market for them so they don’t wont to lose it by talking HR violations in SL.They themselves are champions of HR violations in their own countries.You may surprise to know that the Chinese citizens are even selling their products at Pettah markets shouting ‘Deseeyai,Deseeyai” (200/-) carrot Cutting knife.The market is so open to them.
Sonlight - October 22, 2012
4:05 pm
Ho…ho…hooooooooooo…………Christmas cometh early………….
HRW has just discovered Sri Lanka has friends too with some muscle.
Candidly, the HRW forgot
dicky Bird - October 22, 2012
4:16 pm
No amount of gloating over an international body like HRW ‘s statement against China or Russia, can make the real story go away. Sri Lanka has been accused of human rights abuses, and we can try to attack HRW, other nations or international bodies, for criticizing the government of Sri Lanka and it’s continuous dodging of the issue, and make others look the culprits, but UNTIL there is a thorough investigation, and decent cooperation by the Rajapaksa regime, we will always looked like a banana republic with a dishonest government.
If the Rajapaksa’s have nothing to hide, they will welcome any investigation by any international body.
All we have seen is stalling, name calling, and pointing at others supposed to be worse than us.
Panda - October 22, 2012
6:01 pm
@Panda:
It’s a straightforward question of sovereignty. No fully sovereign state will allow ‘independent investigations’ of its alleged war crimes by an external organisation. Do you honestly believe there exists an ‘independent’ organisation capable of satisfying both the expat LTTE and GoSL?
Only weak, failed states allow investigations by external bodies of internal matters. e.g. Kosovo, DRC, CAR, etc.
Mango - October 23, 2012
2:08 pm
Panda
Why on earth a sovereign nation should allow a strategic tool of the Western neo-colonialism to investigate in to its conduct when the said organization failed investigate horrendous crimes against humanity committed by the Western nations ,whose interests it champions. HRW can go fly a kite in my opinion and mind its own business
Brian de Bois Guilbert - October 23, 2012
4:06 pm
You just proved my point. This outrage that other’s dare question us, is ridiculous.
The perfect art of dodging by the government and their supporters. It does not matter what other’s do, we have to do right by our citizens and have accountability to the families who are missing their loved ones. It seems the theme by our government is, everyone is wrong and we are right.
If we do not want interference from outside sources, and have pride about our sovereign rights,
then we have to be consistent in showing that pride and NOT receive aid or alms from these very same countries and show just how proud we are.
Panda - October 30, 2012
12:37 pm
Panda,
You make an excellent point. ‘..we have to do right by our citizens and have accountability to the families who are missing their loved ones.”
You’ll just have to wait for a bit. Say about 30 years? Or at least until the fuss has died down sufficiently for accountability to be a realistic aim.
There’s a long queue of Lankans wanting ‘justice’, stretching as far back as JVP 1. The dead of the those two insurrections are still waiting for their ‘justice’ and accountability. What makes the victims of Eelam Wars 1-4 so special?
I think this govt’s been fantastically short-sighted and hubristic in not even attempting to grope towards a solution – the reason for which this war was fought to its brutal and inevitable conclusion. As as long as these ‘accountability demands’ are tied to war crimes prosecutions, I don’t see any movement. Isn’t that obvious, surely?
Mango - October 31, 2012
1:22 am