United Nations has said that Sri Lanka’s progress in achieving the goals set out in UNHRC resolution is not only slow, but seems to have grounded to a virtual halt. Addressing a press conference after his five-day visit to Sri Lanka, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson told media in Colombo today that none of the measures so far adopted to fulfill Sri Lanka’s transitional justice commitments are adequate to ensure real progress.
He said the Government has thus far done almost nothing to hold to account those members of the armed forces who committed gross human rights violations during and since the LTTE conflict. The official warned these are precisely the conditions likely to produce festering grievances, to foster unrest and even to reignite conflict. Sri Lankan government has co-sponsored a resolution in 2015 to address war crimes and human rights issues during the three-decades long LTTE conflict.
The Special Rapporteur asserted that Sri Lanka is one of the worst nations in terms of carrying torture against detainees and called upon the Government to provide for effective judicial review of the legality of detentions. He also called on the Government to establish an effective mechanism for investigating all allegations of torture by the police, and for reviewing the safety of all past convictions.