Human Rights Watch has called on United Nations members to hold Sri Lanka accountable for wartime abuses at the upcoming Universal Periodic Review, later this week.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the New York-based NGO gave a detailed rebuttal to Sri Lanka’s 2012 UPR submission, addressing areas of media freedom, anti-terror laws, intimidation of human rights activists, the use of torture, disappearances, the plgiht of internally displaced persons and accountability for war crimes.
The statement went on to say,
“UN member countries should express grave concern about these failures and approach Sri Lankan’s 2012 UPR submission with skepticism.”
Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch said,
“The government’s rosy self-appraisal makes a mockery of the situation in Sri Lanka, as well as its failure to deliver on commitments from 2008...
Its default response to criticism of its rights record – that its efforts are ‘ongoing’ – is neither truthful nor adequate.”
“Governments should use the UPR to question Sri Lanka’s deteriorating human rights situation and make recommendations for meaningful change... Of particular concern is the government’s ongoing failure to hold anyone to account for numerous deadly abuses by both sides during Sri Lanka’s long war.”
Also see our TG View - 'How meaningful is Sri Lanka's UPR?' (25 October 2012)
