.@mbachelet calls on intl community to establish dedicated capacity to collect/preserve evidence of crimes in #SriLanka + for States to pursue prosecutions in their national courts & consider targeted sanctions against perpetrators https://t.co/CCoyu9XImL
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) January 27, 2021
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Responding to a video posted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) depicting wartime atrocities, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardane has attacked the OHCHR accusing it of being “utterly biased”.
His statement follows a damning report by the High Commissioner which highlighted Sri Lanka’s war crimes; the country’s long-running impunity; and called for international action to ensure accountability; including the imposition of sanctions on key officials implicated in crimes against humanity and a referral to the ICC.
The Sri Lankan government responded to the report by claiming that it was “speculative, presumptive, and unsubstantiated opinions”. Throughout their response they defended accused war criminals, denied reports of rights abuses, and slammed accusations of ongoing discrimination.
Read more here: Sri Lanka’s frenzied response to UN report
Gunawardane has responded to the UN tweet claiming;
“This Twitter message is a total deviation from the procedure laid down in this regard. It is utterly biased”.
Increasingly human rights organisations alongside Tamil parliamentarians and representatives of victim groups have called for strong international action, in opposition to a “consensual resolution”. These NGOs have called for sanctions of senior Sri Lankan officials implicated in war crimes, monitoring of the human rights situation, and for Sri Lanka to be referred to the ICC.
Read more here.
