Untitled Document
March 28, 2024 [GMT]
Tamil Diaspora wants Lanka referred to UNGA
[Sunday 2017-03-05 17:00]

The Tamil Diaspora gathered in Geneva began exerting pressure on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) not to grant Sri Lanka the 24-month extension to implement the 'derailed' October 2015 HRC resolution, but to instead refer Sri Lanka to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The Tamil Diaspora is planning specific measures to be taken at the ongoing UNHRC sessions to urge the UNGA to also refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as North Korea was.

The Tamil Diaspora gathered in Geneva began exerting pressure on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) not to grant Sri Lanka the 24-month extension to implement the 'derailed' October 2015 HRC resolution, but to instead refer Sri Lanka to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The Tamil Diaspora is planning specific measures to be taken at the ongoing UNHRC sessions to urge the UNGA to also refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as North Korea was. "It's crystal clear that SL is set on slipping away from pressure exerted by the International community until their next General Election" the Diaspora has told the UNHRC.

  

The Tamil Disapora has asked the world body "If Sri Lanka truly believes no crimes under international law were committed during and after the war, then what is the delay and why ask for more time?" In the debate relating to the Sri Lankan government, mainly by members of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and the British Tamil Forum, the Sri Lankan delegation explained core challenges the government has been facing but gave an assurance that they will implement the 2015 Resolution if given the time extension. Tamil Civil society lobbies, the TGTE , British Tamil Forum ( BTF), several international human rights activists and 11 members of the TNA have urged the UNHRC in the last two days to refer Sri Lanka to the UN General Assembly. UNHRC Member countries are however not likely to refer Sri Lanka to the GA or Security Council, Ceylon Today learns.

Apparently the 'mood' among UNHRC member countries at the moment is to grant Sri Lanka more time with periodic updates on its progress, it is learnt. The British Tamil Forum said "Sri Lanka has with 'equivocal' rhetoric 'managed' the UNHRC by telling them that they are having challenges on the ground, also admitted the delay in implementing UN Resolution 30/1 and gone further now by asking for more time." The BTF said " While we were all expecting the UNHRC to refer SL to the GA or SC, SL continues to mislead the international community at the UN." "Sri Lanka is on its knees at the UN begging for more time. The UN High Commissioner's damning Report which came out yesterday revealed Sri Lanka's real failures. Many countries made their disappointments and suspicions about Sri Lanka known at the interaction sessions with us " the BTF added.

"The Tamil people from SL and in the Diaspora are continuing to work in tandem to expose GoSL's unwillingness to fully implement its commitments to resolution 30/1 , as made clear in word and deed, in the last 18 months. They didn't even deliver on the comparatively minor pledges such as releasing civilian properties occupied by security forces, publishing as promised a comprehensive list of detainees arrested or surrendered during the final phase of the war, releasing political prisoners detained under the draconian PTA, repeal the PTA, remove the security forces from civilian activities etc. They should have built a momentum towards genuine accountability and reconciliation. Tamil Diaspora sources have said they will continue to work with the UNHRC to keep Sri Lanka on the international agenda and compel the government to honour its commitments in resolution 30/1. The Diaspora will also work along with several countries to develop diplomatic ties with the objective of having Sri Lanka referred to the GA and SC.

The TGTE which has a Monitoring Accountability Panel (MAP) with eminent international Jurists such as Geoffrey Robertson QC is hopeful that although Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) could refer the case to the International Criminal Court for investigation. It points out that North Sudan is not a State Party to the Rome Statute but the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC in Resolution 1593 (2005) on 31 March 2005. However, the complexity involved in this approach is yet to be studied, a source said. The TGTE also says that countries that have a veto power are careful in using that veto and even though China has enjoyed veto power for 40 years as a member of the UN had only exercised that veto only 9 times. The most recent occasion was in relation to a resolution on Syria relating to the use of weapons of mass destruction.

"China rarely uses her veto power compared with other countries. It is very unlikely that China will use the veto to protect Sri Lanka as it even did not use it to protect Sudan, a much closer ally compared with Sri Lanka, from the ICC " a Human Rights expert from Washington DC said. The Diaspora feels that due to North Korea's inaction, the UNHRC referred the country to the UN General Assembly to recommend the UN Security Council to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and North Korea has been included in the current UN Security Council agenda to be dealt with in Geneva.

  
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