PostGeneva War Begins

Rights groups, Diaspora upbeat but Government defiant

By Easwaran Rutnam It was a session marred by allegations and counter allegations on ri !an"a, but, in the end, the resolution on ri !an"a submitted before the #$ %uman Rights &ouncil was adopted, not before there was a bit of drama' (he draft resolution submitted by the #nited tates and co)sponsored by *+ countries, including those who do not have voting rights in the &ouncil, was adopted with ,- countries of the *. member council voting for and +, against while +, abstained' big surprise came from India' (he Indians were e/pected to bac" the resolution, but, instead, India decided to abstain on the basis that some clauses were not acceptable' What remains to be seen now is if the Government will cooperate with the 0ffice of the %igh &ommissioner for %uman Rights 10%&%R2 to implement the resolution, which includes a call for an international investigation over alleged human rights abuses which too" place between ,33, and ,334' o far, the Government has said a firm 5$06 to an international investigation, but some are of the view that this position may change slightly with the end of the provincial council election fever' International human rights groups are of the view that it will serve the Government well if they cooperate with 0%&%R on the resolution instead of adopting a confrontational attitude' 5(he ri !an"an Government has twice ignored calls by the #$ %uman Rights &ouncil to conduct an independent and credible investigation into allegations of violations during the country7s horrific civil conflict' $ow, they have a fresh opportunity to restore some international credibility by cooperating with the investigation,6 8sia)Pacific Deputy Director at 8mnesty InternationalDavid Griffiths said' (he Government, however, fears the international investigation will not be independent if it is monitored by the %igh &ommissioner for %uman Rights $avi Pillay' E/ternal 8ffairs 9inister G ! Peiris accused Pillay of being biased, adding that statements she had made soon after the war was testament to this'

%owever, %uman Rights Watch feels the investigation will be independent and will not only loo" at allegations against the Government but even the !((E' 5(here will now be an independent investigation into allegations of war violations and other serious abuses by both sides during the conflict in ri !an"a' (his is a welcome decision, and one that will encourage victims and activists in ri !an"a who have strived so courageously for accountability and :ustice' India chose to abstain but should now encourage ri !an"a to cooperate with the #$ human rights office to put this resolution into motion,6 outh 8sia Director for %uman Rights Watch 9eena"shi Ganguly said' 9eanwhile, the Global (amil ;orum 1G(;2, one of the most influential (amil Diaspora groups based in !ondon, which campaigned for an international probe on ri !an"a, said that the international community must ma"e it absolutely clear to the government what the conse<uences will be if they do not cooperate and=or wilfully obstruct the investigation' 5 ince inception, G(; has consistently called for an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both sides of the armed conflict which ended in 9ay ,334' 8s an independent international investigative mechanism, the 0%&%R has been authorised to conduct a comprehensive in<uiry in ri !an"a, which will investigate the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the ri !an"an military and the !((E forces in the last years of the civil war,6 G(; said' 8mong the countries G(; sought support from for the resolution was outh 8frica, but the outh 8fricans decided to abstain from voting' G(; feels it is because outh 8frica is loo"ing at playing the role of facilitator at negotiations aimed at reaching a political solution in ri !an"a' 5We share the (amil $ational 8lliance7s view that an in<uiry should happen as soon as possible to ensure that further evidence of breaches of international law are not erased by the Government of ri !an"a' We urge the 0%&%R to issue an authoritative public statement on how witnesses and their families will be protected in the event of those witnesses coming forward to give evidence to the in<uiry,6 G(; said' 8nother Diaspora organisation based in !ondon, (amils for !abour, said the #> Government, one of the co)sponsors of the resolution, and other members of the international community, must also ensure that the investigation is provided with ade<uate resources and that the establishment of a proper witness protection program, for those that testify, is given the highest priority' (he International &ommission of ?urists 1I&?2, meanwhile, said that, while the resolution did not fully respond to calls from civil society for the &ouncil directly to establish an international &ommission of In<uiry, an investigation led by the 0%&%R has the potential to deliver similarly powerful findings, particularly if the 0ffice fully e/ercises its mandate to draw on the assistance of independent e/perts and special procedures with a focus on ensuring accountability, truth and :ustice'

5(he resolution sends a strong message to the Government of ri !an"a that the international community is not willing to turn its bac" on victims7 pursuit of truth, :ustice and accountability in ri !an"a,6 said I&? outh 8sia Programme !egal 8dvisor heila @aradan' (he resolution is the third resolution adopted by the &ouncil on ri !an"a since ,3+,' (he previous two called on the Government of ri !an"a to underta"e an independent and credible national investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law' Professor G! Peiris claimed that the # e/erted pressure on some countries to bac" the resolution, including by warning that failure to do so may hurt # ties with those countries' 5 ome countries had no choice but to bac" the resolution' (hey could not re:ect # threats as some countries have strong economic ties with the # ,6 he said' %e said that even ri !an"a had refused to submit to pressure to accept the resolution and he asserted that there was a need to stand up to pressure from powerful countries' 5(he fact is that some of these people want to see a political change in ri !an"a' What cannot be done internally through elections, they are trying to do internationally,6 he said' 9inister Peiris said that, in the end, the # resolution had minimal support from 8sia and 8frica and even most of the co)sponsors of the resolution were from Europe' Peiris said the ri !an"an Government will continue with its domestic process to address human rights related issues and not agree to an international process' The Indian Stand (he e/planation provided by India7s Permanent Representative to the #$ 0ffices in Geneva, 8mbassador Dilip inha, as to why India decided to abstain from voting for the resolution on ri !an"a at the #$ %uman Rights &ouncilA (he #$ %uman Rights &ouncil has adopted three resolutions on ri !an"a since 9ay ,334 when the three decades old conflict in that country ended' India has always been of the view that the end of the conflict in ri !an"a provided a uni<ue opportunity to pursue a lasting political settlement acceptable to all communities in ri !an"a, including the (amils' India believes that this &ouncil7s efforts should contribute to a tate7s own efforts in the promotion and protection of human rights' We are strongly supportive of ri !an"a7s continued engagement with the 0%&%R' We encourage the %igh &ommissioner to continue to provide technical assistance in accordance with the relevant %R& resolutions' We are also supportive of close engagement of #$ pecial Procedures with the Government of ri !an"a' It was in this spirit that India supported the resolutions adopted by the &ouncil in ,3+, and ,3+-, which sought to

promote such cooperation' During the past year, there have been some notable developments in ri !an"a' (he Government of ri !an"a has honoured its commitment to the international community to hold elections at the $orthern Provincial &ouncil' ;urther, the Government of ri !an"a has ta"en steps to implement some of the important recommendations of the !essons !earnt and Reconciliation &ommission 1!!R&2, such as (rilingual Policy, promoting the official use of the (amil language and the upgrading of schools in the $orthern and Eastern Provinces' (he %igh &ommissioner7s report mandated by this &ouncil7s resolution of ,3+- on ri !an"a, rightly ac"nowledges the progress made in reconstruction, resettlement and implementation of some of the recommendations made by the !!R& established by the Government of ri !an"a' 8t the same time, the report also notes that the Government of ri !an"a has failed to ensure independent and credible investigations into past violations of international human rights and humanitarian law' (he implementation of !!R& recommendations lies at the core of reconciliation and accountability in ri !an"a' India continues to underscore that the report of the !!R&, and its findings and recommendations, provide a window of opportunity to forge a consensual way forward towards a lasting political settlement' We call for effective and timely implementation of all the constructive recommendations contained in the !!R& Report, including those pertaining to missing persons, detainees, reduction of Bhigh security Cones7, return of private lands by the military and withdrawal of security forces from the civilian domain in the $orthern Province' (he elections to the $orthern Provincial &ouncil in eptember ,3+- were a significant step forward' %owever, much more needs to be done by the Government of ri !an"a towards a meaningful devolution of powers' It needs to continue to ta"e specific measures towards broad)based, inclusive, meaningful and genuine reconciliation with the minority (amil community' We call on the Government of ri !an"a to ma"e purposeful efforts to fulfil its commitments, including on the devolution of political authority through the full implementation of the +-th 8mendment of the &onstitution of ri !an"a and to build upon it' 8s the closest neighbour, with thousands of years of relations with ri !an"a, we cannot remain untouched by developments in that country' ince the end of the armed conflict, India remains engaged in a substantial way in the relief, resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction process in ri !an"a' We have e/tended substantial assistance to the Government of ri !an"a in its efforts for resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons, de)mining, education, connectivity, livelihood restoration, economic revival, etc' (his has contributed towards return of a modicum of normalcy in the $orthern and Eastern provinces of ri !an"a' In as"ing the 0%&%R to investigate, assess and monitor the human rights situation

in ri !an"a, the resolution ignores the progress already made by the country in this field and places in :eopardy the cooperation currently ta"ing place between the Government of ri !an"a and the 0%&%R and the &ouncil7s pecial Procedures' Besides, the resolution is inconsistent and impractical in as"ing both the Government of ri !an"a and the 0%&%R to simultaneously conduct investigations' India believes that it is imperative for every country to have the means of addressing human rights violations through robust national mechanisms' (he &ouncil7s efforts should, therefore, be in a direction to enable ri !an"a to investigate all allegations of human rights violations through comprehensive, independent and credible national investigative mechanisms and bring to :ustice those found guilty' ri !an"a should be provided all assistance it desires in a cooperative and collaborative manner' It has been India7s firm belief that adopting an intrusive approach that undermines national sovereignty and institutions is counterproductive' 8ny significant departure from the core principle of constructive international dialogue and cooperation has the potential to undermine efforts of this &ouncil for promoting universal respect for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms' 9oreover, any e/ternal investigative mechanism with an open)ended mandate to monitor national processes for protection of human rights in a country is not reflective of the constructive approach of dialogue and cooperation envisaged by #$ General 8ssembly resolution D3=,E+ that created the %R& in ,33D as well as the #$G8 resolution DE=,F+ that reviewed the %R& in ,3++' We are, therefore, concerned that the resolution has the potential to hinder the efforts of the country rather than contribute constructively to its efforts, and, hence, inadvertently complicate the situation'