The resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will be taken up for a vote tomorrow, even as the Government stepped up efforts to shore up support internationally to defeat the move that will maintain international oversight on the island’s human rights for years to come.
The vote was originally scheduled to be held today tomorrow, but has been delayed to the final day of the 46th Session of the Council due to scheduling issues, Daily FT learns. 47 member states of the UNHRC will vote on whether to adopt the resolution that seeks to ‘promote accountability, reconciliation and human rights’ in Sri Lanka and establishes a central evidence database relating to grave human rights cases in the island.
The mechanism run by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will ‘collect, preserve, consolidate and analyse’ evidence of war-time abuses and related human rights cases in Sri Lanka, in order to support future prosecutions – possibly in foreign jurisdictions.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was personally involved in eleventh hour efforts to win support for Sri Lanka, calling the Secretary General of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) yesterday. The OIC tweeted that President Rajapaksa and OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousuf Al Othaimeen had discussed relations between Sri Lanka and the large grouping of Islamic states, and the situation of the Muslim Community in the island.
The OIC has reacted strongly to the Government’s policy of mandatory cremations for COVID-19 victims, and recently condemned Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera’s announcement of the proposed ban on the full-face veil or burqa.
Several OIC member states will vote on the Sri Lanka resolution tomorrow.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa also used his visit to Bangladesh to attend the country’s independence celebrations to make an appeal for Dhaka’s support at the UNHRC. Bangladesh is a voting member of the UN Human Rights Council. Prime Minister Rajapaksa also telephoned the Deputy King of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa yesterday.
The pair reviewed bilateral ties and other areas of cooperation, the Prime Minister tweeted. “His Royal Highness recalled and appreciated efforts made to sustain peace and stability during the time of my presidency,” Premier Rajapaksa said in reference to the phone call. Bahrain is also a voting member of the UNHRC.
All eyes will be on India’s position on the Sri Lanka resolution. Despite statements made by Government officials including Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage, India has not committed to a position on the resolution, but early in the 46th Session, New Delhi’s representative made a strong intervention at the Council, urging Colombo to make good on post-war commitments to power devolution and a political settlement for the Tamil people, including the full implementation of the 13th Amendment that the Government has threatened to undo. India voted in favour of UNHRC resolutions on Sri Lanka in 2009, 2012 and 2013, and abstained from voting in 2014.
Yesterday, Foreign Secretary Colombage said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had indicated Dhaka would support Sri Lanka at the UNHRC during Premier Rajapaksa’s visit.
“We Sri Lankans are very happy,” Colombage said.
The resolution on Sri Lanka is being championed by a core group of countries including UK, Germany, Canada, Montenegro, Malawi and Macedonia. The US which has announced it will re-join the Human Rights Council, has also made the resolution on Sri Lanka a priority at the 46th Session of the UNHRC. The resolution is widely expected to carry with a small majority of votes, but the Government of Sri Lanka will keep up lobbying until the final hour to swing support in its favour, Daily FT learns.
(FT)