The UN challenge continues

WHEN one hurdle is cleared, another appears on the horizon. Sri Lanka’s recent success at the United Nations General Assembly and UNHRC sessions does not mean that its vulnerability for international intervention is over. This much was acknowledged by Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who headed the Government team at the UNHRC. In fact the Sri Lankan Government has already started preparing for the 2012 UN sessions, as it expects another round of allegations concerning human rights.

The country managed to prevent a UNHRC resolution for the report from the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) being discussed at the 2012 session. It also managed to voice strong protest over the UN Secretary General’s report being released to the UNHRC without the knowledge of the Government.

Sri Lanka is also adamant that it will continue to fight against a push from Western countries for an international investigation regarding alleged war crimes during the last phase of the war. Despite being caught off-guard about the release of the Darusman Report, it was able to galvanise support by taking the stance that this breach of etiquette could affect other countries. The Government built consensus with a range of countries and showed them how this could affect them as well.

Eight countries had submitted a letter to the UNHRC saying that the Darusman Report could not even be used as an “information document”. These included Russia, Cuba, Malaysia, Algeria, Pakistan and China, marking a significant victory for Sri Lanka.

The informal session organised by Canada to discuss the LLRC report and build consensus for it to be discussed at the next UN General Assembly saw the participation of former Attorney General Mohan Peiris, who argued against such a move. If this had been carried through, not only would Sri Lanka have been under pressure to prove itself before the UN assembly, but also kept the country’s human rights record in the limelight for successive sessions.

A contentious LLRC report and the Darusman Report together would have added weight to the call by some countries for an international war crimes investigation. However, this gives added credence to the LLRC report and its need to address significant concerns regarding reconciliation methods in Sri Lanka. It must be credible to be accepted by the internal Tamil community as well.

As was already pointed out by Samarasinghe, the international eye will continue to be fixed on Sri Lanka and there is the danger of extremist parties instigating adverse measures against Sri Lanka. This can only be countered by continued initiatives by the Government to build internal reconciliation.

For example, the lifting of the Emergency Regulations was well met by everyone. This should now be further enhanced with transparent laws, allowing for civil liberties that are implemented with the consensus of all communities. The pending legal challenges in Sri Lanka will have a significant effect on how reconciliation can be achieved.

Political reconciliation is another broad aspect that needs to mature so that Sri Lanka’s vulnerability will be reduced and its reputation enhanced. Drawing together support from internal moderate people is more important, one can argue, than convincing the critics. The Government needs to stay on a path of genuine and inclusive reconciliation to have a peaceful future.