Sri Lanka Draws Unhrc's Attention To Progress In Reconciliation Efforts

Refuting OHCHR’s grave charges, Colombo hints that Sri Lanka is a victim of Big Power rivalry

- P. K. Balachandran

In its observations on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) communicated to the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Sri Lankan government has drawn attention to the progress made in addressing issues related to human rights and ethnic reconciliation and emphatically refuted the charges and contentions in the OHCHR’s report.

In the point-by-point refutation, the government’s overall thrust is that the OHCHR’s contentions are baseless, biased and unsubstantiated. Some comments and prescriptions amount to violation of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and meddling in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs which is outside the UNHRC’s mandate.

The government’s 30-page reply published in full by www. counterpoint.lk says that the OHCHR should have focused on “deliverable” reconciliation mechanisms rather than trying to put in place mechanisms which do not have popular sanction or are constitutionally barred.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Refuting the repeated contention that Sri Lanka has been hoodwinking the UNHRC, the government points out that the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) is functioning under judicial oversight and is headed by a former Supreme Court judge. Government is waiting for the OMP to submit its financial requirements. The Office of Reparations, (OR), which has been allotted Rs.910 million, has so far received 16,275 applications of which 4358 have been processed and Rs.142 million disbursed as reparations. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) was allotted Rs.290 million.