ICJ wants CHOGM moved from Lanka

The International Commission of Jurists has issued an open letter to Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, requesting that the CHOGM venue be shifted from Colombo in 2013.

“In the present climate, allowing Sri Lanka to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November 2013 would raise serious questions about the Commonwealth’s commitment to democracy, the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law,” the letter signed by ICJ Secretary General Wilder Tayler said.

It said that the removal of the Chief Justice through a process declared unconstitutional by the apex court and in contravention of international standards on the independence of the Judiciary goes directly against the core principles enunciated in the Singapore Declaration 1971, the Harare Declaration 1991 and the Latimer House Principles on the Three Branches of Government 2003; it flies in the face of the Commonwealth values of promoting and protecting democracy, the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary.

“We recall your statement that ‘The Commonwealth’s Latimer House Principle, which govern the relationship between the three branches of government, are the cornerstone of our association’s values,” it said.

“The unlawful impeachment process marks a serious acceleration of the general and serious decline in respect for human rights and the rule of law in Sri Lanka, as documented recently in our report Authority without accountability.

“These developments are all the more alarming given the ongoing failure of the Sri Lankan Government to respond to domestic and international demands for accountability for serious human rights violations in the country.”