{"id":183155,"date":"2017-10-19T00:48:35","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T19:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=183155"},"modified":"2017-10-23T00:15:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T18:45:13","slug":"the-un-special-rapporteur-the-governments-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-un-special-rapporteur-the-governments-duty\/","title":{"rendered":"The UN Special Rapporteur &#038; The Government\u2019s Duty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><b><strong>By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Sanja+De+Silva+Jayatilleka&amp;x=10&amp;y=7\">Sanja De Silva Jayatilleka<\/a>\u00a0\u2013<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_167444\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Sanja-De-Silva-Jayatilleka.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-167444\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-167444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Sanja-De-Silva-Jayatilleka-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Sanja-De-Silva-Jayatilleka-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Sanja-De-Silva-Jayatilleka-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Sanja-De-Silva-Jayatilleka.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-167444\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sanja De Silva Jayatilleka<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">UN Special Rapporteur <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Pablo+de+Greiff\">Pablo de Greiff<\/a>, currently on a two week visit to Sri Lanka, announced before his visit that he intends to \u201creview the progress made thus far, to identify obstacles and bottlenecks in the implementation of the transitional justice and reform process\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\">The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry for its\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s2\">part issued a media release insisting that \u201cGovernments are not bound by the advice or recommendations of Special Rapporteurs\u201d and that it was <\/span><span class=\"s3\">up to the Government of Sri Lanka to decide whether it will \u201cdraw on his knowledge, expertise and advice and consult him further in any manner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s2\">This sudden assertion of autonomy provoked a critical Editorial from a leading Sunday newspaper which alleged that the Ministry was \u201cstraining to allay growing public concern that this Government will capitulate before continuing international pressure\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s2\">The Ministry claimed that the government can make its decision on his findings once Mr. Pablo de Greiff presents his report to the UNHRC \u201cin September 2018\u201d. However, it is unlikely that the Special Rapporteur would hold off presenting at least some of his conclusions until September next year, with the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council, where all Special Rapporteurs make presentations, just a few months away in March 2018. Besides, Mr. de Greiff is scheduled to have the customary media briefing at the end of his visit on the 23<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><sup>rd<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s2\"> of this month at which he is likely to indicate at least some of his impressions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s2\">A Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council commands considerable influence especially on the state representatives at the Council itself. Furthermore, when the world order today is no longer confined to sovereign states, and in fact contains influential civil society actors and other networks of experts which in turn impact the opinions of citizens and thereby the conduct of states, it is hardly the case that a country can be wholly independent of world public opinion. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s2\">Ensuring that Sri Lanka actively participates in the process of the visit of the Special Rapporteur so that as accurate a picture as possible is established by its full engagement, is the government\u2019s responsibility. As was seen recently at the Human Rights Council, not countering false allegations by civil society participants hardly helped to promote a realistic picture of the conditions in Sri Lanka. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s2\">Since the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur will be informed by what he learns here, awaiting his report in September 2018 to evaluate his conclusions and recommendations for its benefit to Sri Lanka may be a less effective strategy than helping him reach them in a way that is of optimum use to Sri Lanka by affording him all possible assistance and access to the credible, substantive information that is already available in the state system. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">The case for serious engagement with the Special Rapporteur while he is in Sri Lanka is enhanced when the subject deals with \u2018massive or systematic human rights abuses\u2019, which is what Transitional Justice (TJ) responds to. Since the government invited Mr. de Greiff to evaluate its progress in this area, it seems to have conceded that such abuse had in fact taken place. If it has not, it should then provide Mr. de Greiff with the material necessary in order for him to make an informed analysis, so as to better advise us on the course of action which \u201cthe Government considers beneficial to the people of Sri Lanka\u201d as the Foreign Ministry has claimed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">In this effort, it is hoped that he has been given the Report of an official Commission which deals with the issue relevant to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and was tabled in parliament by the present Prime Minister himself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">That report, the 2<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><sup>nd<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s2\"> Mandate Report of the Paranagama Commission, was compiled with the advice of legal luminaries of international stature. It included a legal Advisory Council made up of Sir Desmond de Silva, QC (UK) as Chairman, with Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice, QC (UK), and Professor David M. Crane (USA).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">The Advisory Council was supported by experts from around the world such as Mr. Rodney Dixon, QC (UK\/ South Africa), Professor Michael Newton (USA, Vanderbilt University) who formerly served as the Senior Advisor to the United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes, Commander William Fenrick (Canada), Professor Nina Jorgensen (Harvard and The Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Major General John Holmes DSO, OBE, MC (UK,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>former Commanding Officer of the SAS) who provided an independent Military Report on the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">The mandate of that Commission was extended by Government Gazette to include \u201cfacts and circumstances surrounding civilian loss of life and the question of the responsibility of any individual, group or institution for violations of international law during the conflict that ended in May 2009\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">When the Resolutions of the Human Rights Council and the statements of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights rely heavily on the UN Secy-Gen\u2019s PoE Report&#8211;the Darusman Report&#8211; and quote it as a source for their opinions, it is imperative that the Paranagama Commission 2<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><sup>nd<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s2\"> Mandate Report is made available by the Foreign Ministry to visiting experts from Geneva. The Paranagama report states that it aimed to analyze \u201cthe complex legal standards applicable to military operations such as those that occurred in the final phase of the Sri Lankan conflict and to apply them to the unique set of factual circumstances that presented itself during the relevant time period\u201d and that \u201cThis exercise has not been adequately carried out in the existing report of the UN Secretary General\u2019s Panel of Experts (Darusman Report)\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">It can confidently make such an evaluation, given the impressive legal expertise it had at its disposal in contrast to the Darusman panel which was not able to adhere to appropriate evidentiary standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">While the Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Recurrence is concerned with all post-conflict situations with a victim-centered focus, it is the emphasis on Transitional Justice that is at issue. It is critical that the solutions fit the problem, as Pablo de Greiff himself has declared in his report on Transitional Justice to the Human Rights Council. The Paranagama Commission, after many months of investigations and serious engagement with the top legal experts has concluded that: \u201cOn the basis of the evidence available to this Commission and the prevailing law, the suggestion that the crime of genocide was or may have been committed during the final phase of the war is without foundation. While there may have been long standing practices of religious and racial discrimination carried out by various governments toward minorities, targeting such groups even if for discriminatory reasons is not sufficient to constitute genocide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">Since the Special Rapporteur\u2019s mandate according to the Foreign Ministry, seeks to promote \u201chealing and reconciliation\u201d, and is designed for \u201cALL victims of a situation of conflict and not one group or one community\u201d, it is important that in his task of advising on policies of reconciliation, he is not misled on the conduct of one group or the other. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">The value of the Paranagama Commission report is that for its 2nd Mandate it has reviewed a great deal of material already in the public domain. According to the report, \u201cThese sources have been both primary and secondary, including highly relevant reports such as the \u2018Darusman Report\u2019 (2011), the \u2018LLRC Report\u2019 (2011), the Report of the Secretary General\u2019s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka &#8211; 2012 (Petrie Report), the Sooka Report (2014) \u2018An Unfinished War: Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka 2009\u20142014\u2019, the Reports to Congress by the US State Department (2009), reports by the International Crisis Group, Amnesty International, the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), Human Rights Watch, and many others.\u201d It is unlikely that a more comprehensive and authoritative examination of the last phase of the war has been compiled thus far. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">An indispensable critical inquiry by civil society into the last phase of the war pertinent to the Special Rapporteur\u2019s mandate would be \u201c<i>The Third Narrative<\/i>: Issues of Truth and Accountability\u201d jointly published by Marga Institute and the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), the primary author of which is Dr. Godfrey Gunatilleke, distinguished civil servant and founder of the Marga Institute, which re-examined material available in the public domain <i>including of satellite imagery of the conflict zone<\/i> and contains detailed accounts of the movement of food and medicines to the conflict areas. The publication says it \u201cattempts to grapple with issues of truth and accountability during the final stage of the war in Sri Lanka\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">It is important that in order to fulfill UN Special Rapporteur Pablo de Greiff\u2019s mandate, the \u201cTruth\u201d dimension of it should be established as far as possible in order for the rest of the mandate of \u201cJustice, Reparation and Non-Recurrence\u201d to be effectively addressed. Sri Lanka\u2019s war had its specificities. However, its many lessons are of enormous relevance to the world which is increasingly forced to deal with fanatical global terrorist militias and networks imposing sudden and apocalyptic suffering on innocent civilian populations around the globe. Princeton\u2019s Emeritus Professor of International Law, Richard Falk, calls this phenomenon \u2018Apocalyptic Globalization\u2019, to describe its radical program \u201cfor restructuring political life on the basis of religious orthodoxy\u2026which can also be interpreted as an approach to global governance\u201d (Falk: 2004), an unpleasant reality with which all States have to contend. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">Assessing Sri Lanka\u2019s situation carefully in order to design an appropriate response to its current concerns while taking into account its progress and also being mindful of the danger of overstating the violations of international law as amounting to \u2018massive or systematic abuse of human rights\u2019, is likely to be the only guarantee of the successful implementation of the recommendations the Special Rapporteur. Enabling him to do so is the task of the Government, the Opposition and all others who are able to contribute.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":167444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The UN Special Rapporteur &amp; The Government\u2019s Duty - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-un-special-rapporteur-the-governments-duty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The UN Special Rapporteur &amp; 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