28 January 2021
Responding to the UN human rights chief's report on Sri Lanka, representatives from the US, Canada, UK and Germany have renewed their commitment to human rights and accountability on the island, with calls for accountability and sanctions. on officials implicated in war crimes.
This statement follows Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary, former admiral Jayanath Colombage, denouncement of the report as “unfair and unjust”. Colombage, who stands accused of being complicit in torture, has accused the UN of bias and of using human rights as a tool “to coax smaller countries”. During an interview last week, he further revealed that his regime is awaiting a draft of a consensual resolution from the Core Group in Geneva.
Human rights organisations have slammed calls for a consensual resolution maintaining it will "achieve nothing".
Read more here: Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary hits out at UN, USA and Tamil diaspora
US Senator Robert Menendez, a Ranking Member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also tweeted that the report “underlines the declining state of human rights, reconciliation, & accountability in Sri Lanka”.
“I agree with [Bachelet's] call for sanctions on officials implicated in war crimes,” he added.
Representative Gregory Meeks, serving the 5th Congressional District of New York, maintained that “if the [Sri Lankan] government is unwilling to consider enacting the report’s recommendations, the US & partners must explore alternative options as laid out by Michelle Bachelet”.
The US Foreign Select Committee reported on Twitter:
Julian Braithwaite, UK Permanent Representative to the WTO & UN in Geneva, further emphasised the importance of human rights and accountability stating on Twitter:
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marc Garneau, also supported these claims tweeting:
Germany's Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Bärbel Kofler, also expressed "grave concern" stating on Twitter:
