Two representatives of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process formed part of the Sri Lankan delegation to the Sixth Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.  Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary General, and Shirani Goonetilleke, Legal Director, along with Shavindra Fernando, Deputy Solicitor General, and G K D Amarawardena, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, joined staff of the Mission in Geneva to contribute to the proceedings.  Permanent Representative Dayan Jayatilleke is a Vice-President of the Council, and the experienced staff in the Mission contributed actively to discussions, both formal and informal, on a range of issues. The highly professional IT division of the Mission worked right round the clock to keep the media and other Missions briefed, while monitoring all news on Sri Lanka for the benefit of the delegation.

Preceding the sessions, the Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights, Hon Mahinda Samarasinghe, had briefed delegates of several countries on the current Sri Lankan situation, and this was followed on the first day of the sessions by further briefing meetings for various ambassadors. The delegation indicated the areas in which assistance was required by Sri Lanka to improve the Human Rights situation, and during the course of the sessions representations were made to countries that had advanced some criticism but had failed to respond to requests for assistance. A brief discussion with Special Rapporteur Philip Alston confirmed that he had recommended action in areas also identified by the Committee convened by SCOPP. This was a Sub-Committee to look into improving Human Rights Training for the police, appointed by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights, with the participation of representatives of the Inspector General of Police and the National Police Commission.

Discussion with the former Special Human Rights Adviser of the UNHC for Human Rights revealed why, contrary to the expectations of the National Human Rights Commission, there were no UN Volunteers in place in the regional offices of the HRC as agreed previously. It transpired that donors had been unwilling to contribute. This seemed a clear example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, inasmuch as many complaints are heard about the national HRC, but it would seem that the complainants are unwilling to strengthen its operations. Whatever the reasons, it was a pity that the SHRA had not shared this information with the HRC so that matters might have been adjusted promptly.

In the course of debate the delegation was also able to draw attention to misleading information that was circulated. The representative of the Netherlands declared to the Assembly that the International Eminent Persons Group had resigned, and averred that he had been briefed to this effect, but the delegation was able to show by reading from the IEGP letter that this was not the case, and that the IEGP had simply declared – for reasons cited – that they would not continue beyond their mandate beyond the end of March next year. While the delegation did not question how the representative of the Netherlands had been briefed on a matter that was not as yet in the public domain, he was advised that perhaps a less personal perspective would be conducive to promoting human rights requirements as opposed to other agendas.

The delegation also took the opportunity to visit the headquarters of agencies that work in Sri Lanka, such as the ICRC, IFRC and OCHA, to discuss ways of ensuring the most effective delivery of humanitarian assistance, and reporting on problems in a manner that could not be exploited for political purposes. Apologies were tendered for errors that had crept into reporting, whilst investigations into misleading information that may have originated from within the system were promised. Attention was drawn in particular to a release by the UNHCR office in Geneva that did not seem to have been cleared with the representative in Colombo, whilst the failure to note the efforts made by the Sri Lankan government to ensure not only humanitarian assistance but regular social services to all citizens of the country was highlighted, so that remedial action could be taken.

It was also noted that the oft repeated criticism that international agencies had to take special care about humanitarian workers in Sri Lanka was a canard that needed to be dealt with. It was pointed out that international workers were not under threat at all, and that it was Sri Lankans who had suffered most, and most conspicuously because of culpable negligence. Whereas statistics for 2007 were comparatively low, there had been a horrendous incident in 2006, which was being investigated. However, as it had been pointed out to Sir John Holmes, who had kindly shared the regulations with regard to safety, it was obvious that those regulations had been breached. It was pointed out that it was incumbent on his office to ensure that that breach was also inquired into, given his concerns in this regard. This was noted, though it was also suggested that the matter should also be brought to the attention of the UN Coordinator in Colombo.

A visit was also paid to the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in view of the forthcoming visit of a delegation of the IPU, invited by the government of Sri Lanka to look into concerns expressed by some opposition politicians. The visits confirmed the willingness of these institutions to work together with the government of Sri Lanka to promote human rights and humanitarian assistance to peoples suffering from the impact of terrorism, a subject that had been discussed at length during the sessions of the Council.

Rajiva Wijesinha
Secretary General, SCOPP