Tuesday, 24 June 2014 00:01
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Sri Lanka strongly rejects allegations of military presence contributes to insecurity of women and girls in former conflict-affected areas
The Government yesterday accused Canada of being driven by diaspora imperatives, which it says is not helpful to the process of bringing about genuine reconciliation among communities in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka strongly rejected allegations raised by Canada which said that the presence of the military contributes to the insecurity of women and girls in the former conflict-affected areas.
Exercising a ‘Right of Reply’ with regard to the statement made during the General Debate at the ongoing 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council under Agenda Item 4 by Canada, claiming ‘ongoing use of rape and sexual violence by Sri Lankan security forces against perceived Government opponents,’ Sri Lanka said the claim is not substantiated by verifiable data or evidence.
It was noted that any allegations supported by credible evidence are dealt with firmly by the authorities and legal action has been taken by the Government in all cases in which the Sri Lankan security personnel have been involved.
“The involvement of security forces personnel as a percentage of the total incidents of sexual violence is low, both in the conflict and the post-conflict periods. During the conflict period (January 2007-May 2009), seven security forces personnel were reported as having been involved in five incidents of sexual violence in the Northern Province, out of a total of 125 persons accused in 119 incidents for the entire Northern Province. In the post-conflict period (from 2009-May 2012), 10 security forces personnel were reported as having been involved in 6 incidents of sexual violence in the Northern Province, out of a total of 307 persons accused in 256 incidents for the entire Northern Province. The involvement of security forces personnel as a percentage of the total accused stands at 5.6% in the conflict period, and 3.3% in the post-conflict period. Any allegations supported by credible evidence are dealt with firmly by the authorities,” the Sri Lankan delegation at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva said.
The delegation said that the military has taken stringent action, including discharging offenders or imposing other punishments in accordance with the military and penal codes.
“Against this background, Sri Lanka strongly rejects the inference that the presence of military contributes to the insecurity of women and girls in the former conflict-affected areas. This remains at the level of allegation unsubstantiated by verifiable data. Further, no evidence has been directly brought to the attention of Government authorities by any claimant, to enable the conduct of credible investigations and prosecutions. Also, what exactly is meant by Canada by ‘perceived government opponents’ remains deliberately unclear,” the Sri Lankan delegation said.
Sri Lanka urged Canada to refrain from making “irresponsible, unsubstantiated claims” driven by diaspora imperatives which is not helpful to the process of bringing about genuine reconciliation among communities in the aftermath of such a grievous and long-drawn conflict.
(Colombo Gazette)
