HRW urges Govt. to publicly state plans for implementation of UN resolution

New York: While commending the government of Sri Lanka on its efforts to build trust among communities as part of implementing the UN resolution, the global human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Sri Lankan government to be more transparent on the measures it is taking to deliver its promises.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that as the next UN discussion in June approaches, it is critical for the government to confirm publicly the steps it has taken toward delivering on its promises.

Recognising that the Sri Lankan government has made progress in handling consultations on constitutional reforms, the HRW said, the government has made less progress toward fulfilling the resolution agreed to at the UN Human Rights Council.

It said consultations on constitutional reforms, conducted seamlessly and transparently, took place over the course of two months earlier this year and were generally regarded by activists as successful. Yet significant challenges remain for making the momentous changes that could address the drivers of the country’s long civil war.

While the government has engaged in a public consultation process on the resolution, it has appointed a more private working group to implement the “four pillars” of the resolution - truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence.

It said there are rampant rumours about who is in the working group, what it is doing, and the reach of its mandate. “These rumours are fuelled by the lack of any public statement from the government about the group’s membership and its terms of reference.”

“With less than two months to go before the next Human Rights Council session, it is critical for the government to be more open about who the members are and what they have been doing. Even some international bodies that are supposed to be engaging with the working group say that they do not have the most basic information about its structure,” the HRW said.

According to the HRW, the same is true of other developments related to the UN resolution. While public consultations on the “four pillars” are to be open, the workings of the task force appointed to conduct them remains opaque. The mandate and the members of the task force and its various advisory and other organs were made public only after a long delay; well after news of its establishment entered the rumour mill. The reasons for the consultations’ delays are not known; speculation now is that they will begin in May and end in August.

“As the next UN discussion in June approaches, it is critical for the government to confirm publicly the steps it has taken toward delivering on its promises. Failure to do so has already eroded the trust of some segments of society, particularly Tamil and Muslim groups in the north and east. The government would do well to wipe away the fog of rumour and make clear public statements about what it is doing - and how - to implement its obligations,” the right organisation said.