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Pillay notes “massive” violations in Sri Lanka
25 Feb, 2013
The UN High Commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay today noted that “massive” violations had taken place during the war in Sri Lanka.
In her opening speech on the opening day of the 22nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Pillay said that there are too many people with command responsibility in several countries who escape justice for serious crimes and human rights violations.
“Hundreds of thousands of people have died in two genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia and?Herzegovina, the Palestinian territories are still occupied, massive violations have?occurred?in Iraq and Sri Lanka and war crimes?continue?to be committed in numerous internal conflicts including those continuing in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Sudan and Syria,” she said.
She urged the Council to nurture and strengthen the system designed to deal with such crimes and violations and those who commit them.
Representatives from several countries who spoke at the high level segment of the session also made references to Sri Lanka.
South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations Ebrahim Ebrahim noted that the Council has been?seized?with the issue of Sri Lanka for some time now.
“We urge the Sri Lankan government to speedily?implement?all the?recommendations?of the LLRC. We also urge the government of Sri Lanka to engage in a process of reconciliation and?speedily?address the Tamil question in a credible and inclusive manner,” he said.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Minister of State of the British Foreign office, in her speech, said that?implementing?the LLRC?recommendations is crucial for Sri Lanka.?(Colombo Gazette)
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