{"id":219031,"date":"2021-05-14T12:57:29","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T07:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=219031"},"modified":"2021-05-14T12:57:29","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T07:27:29","slug":"sri-lankas-mohan-pieris-should-not-be-framing-international-law-at-the-un","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lankas-mohan-pieris-should-not-be-framing-international-law-at-the-un\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka\u2019s Mohan Pieris Should Not Be Framing International Law At The UN"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a breath-taking attempt to subvert international institutions and the rule of law, the Government of Sri Lanka has proposed a candidate for election to the United Nations\u2019International Law Commission, who is compromised by his failure to hold accountable the perpetrators of enforced disappearance, execution, torture and rape during his tenure as the country\u2019s chief law officer. Mohan Pieris<\/a><\/span> is now Sri Lanka\u2019s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York but from 2008-11 he served as Attorney General of Sri Lanka, failing to investigate or prosecute those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In 2013 he was appointed to the post of Chief Justice, amidst a national and international outcry over the Government\u2019s unlawful impeachment of his predecessor, Shirani Bandaranayake<\/a><\/span>, which the UN Human Rights Council said was an assault on judicial independence and Sri Lanka\u2019s Supreme Court ruled as illegal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mohan Pieris<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe UN\u2019s International Law Commission codifies international laws, with some of its recent work being on areas like immunity, extradition and crimes against humanity. All lawyers and those who care about a more just world order must urge members of the UN General Assembly not to vote for this man,\u201dsaid the ITJP\u2019s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder Pieris\u2019s watch, serious international crimes were alleged to have been perpetrated by the Sri Lankan security forces for which nobody has been held accountable. His appointment as Sri Lanka\u2019s top diplomat at the UN in New York already sent an appalling signal to the international community regarding Sri Lanka\u2019s disregard for accountability and was a slap in the face for thousands of victims who have still not accessed justice,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a man who presided over a period in which journalists in Sri Lanka were abducted and disappeared, assassinated, brutally tortured and locked up just for doing their jobs. Media rights groups around the world must stand in solidarity with us against his nomination for a job that would help whitewash his record and that of his Government,\u201d said Bashana Abeywardane of Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose were journalists who exposed credible evidence warranting international legal intervention for gross human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan State. Appointing a man who denied them justice to a global body that decides on international law is like handing over a hen coop to a jackal,\u201dadded Mr. Abeywardane.<\/p>\n

Read the full statement here<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

International Truth & Justice Project (ITJP)
\nJournalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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