Sri Lanka last week rejected any foreign scrutiny of its human rights record amid growing international criticism of extra-judicial killings, abductions and the recruitment of child soldiers.
Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said Colombo would not allow any unsolicited monitoring of rights in the embattled island, but would invite “eminent persons from time to time” to assess the situation.
“Many eminent persons have visited Sri Lanka at the invitation of the government... that is because we have nothing to hide,” Rambukwella told reporters here. "But, that is by invitation."
“We will protect our sovereignty and will not allow any foreigner to force on us a set-up to monitor (rights).”
He said if an independent international organisation or group arrives in the country without government's invitation to look into the human rights issues, that would be considered a hindrance to the activities of a sovereign state.
Human rights groups have charged that at least 750 people had disappeared since the escalation of fighting between government forces and Liberation Tigers in December 2005.
The bodies of people who had been shot dead “execution-style” blindfolded with their hands tied behind their back have turned up in swamps and by the roadside across the country.
The government has denied involvement in the killings, which have sparked growing international criticism that the authorities were not doing enough to bring the offenders to justice, reported AFP.
The newly appointed Sri Lankan ambassador to Geneva also voiced strong opposition to what was said by some member states and non-governmental organizations when speaking about Sri Lanka.
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last Thursday Ambassador Dayan Jayatillake took exception to the tone and attitude of at least two NGOs and Sweden’s representative.
In a strongly worded speech Ambassador Jayatillake said Sri Lanka was committed to remaining constructively engaged with UN mechanisms and the international community as a whole.
He emphasised that as a sovereign democracy it would not be “prodded, pushed or intimidated” into accepting any measures or institutions against its wishes.
“If certain steps were to be taken, they would have to be taken in concert with the Sri Lankan Government,” Ambassador Jayatillake said.
“The Sri Lankan Government was constructively engaged with the international community in helping to improve the situation there.”
In a joint statement issued at the session earlier in the day Human Rights Watch, the Colombian Commission of Jurists and the International Commission of Jurists said allegations of disappearances in Colombo and in the North and East of Sri Lanka continued to be received and urged Sri Lanka to invite the Working Group to visit the country.
The Sri Lanka government has appointed a presidential commission of inquiry to investigate some selected serious human rights violations in the recent past.
Rambukwella said that a special unit has been deployed to ensure the safety of those who give witness before the commission and that it would function with total transparency.
He said since Sri Lanka has ratified to the conventions of the United Nations it has an obligation to fulfil the human rights requirements in the country and will continue to do so.
An International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) was also appointed by the President to enhance transparency of investigations and to ensure they conform to international norms and standards.
The international rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also urged the deployment of an international panel to provide independent monitoring of the island's rights record.
“To be effective, the mission would be mandated to investigate serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law …; report publicly on its findings; and play a mediating role to help reduce local tensions. A monitoring mission will make it harder for those who commit serious human rights abuses to deny responsibility,” argued HRW’s Senior Legal Advisor James Ross in an opinion in the Daily Mirror.
“The Sri Lankan government would also be sending a very strong signal to the international community that it was genuinely concerned with the state of human rights in the country and - more importantly - was willing to take a bold step to do something about it,” he argues.
“Instead of dismissing out of hand the idea of a UN human rights monitoring mission, the Rajapakse government should take the initiative and begin discussions with concerned states to make this proposal a reality,” Ross wrote.
However, Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona went as far as to deny any accusations of human rights violations in the military campaign against the LTTE, insisting that Sri Lanka was “one country that has taken great care to avoid any civilian casualties”.
A UN official last year accused Sri Lankan government forces of colluding with a the paramilitary Karuna Group to recruit child soldiers in the island's east, a charge vehemently denied by the authorities.
Sri Lanka introduced draconian prevention of terrorism laws in December, giving sweeping powers to the police and security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial.
Amnesty International and other rights groups have noted that the deteriorating rights record was linked to the escalating conflict between troops and the LTTE.
Meanwhile the US congress and the opposition in a joint statement have requested American President George W. Bush to send a committee to Sri Lanka to look into the human rights violations.
