WUNRN
SRI LANKA - HUMANITARIAN CRISIS OF
CONFLICT - WOMEN & CHILDREN
NEED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS +
SURVIVOR JUSTICE & SUPPORT - GENDER
The Secretary-General said “full
transparency and full respect for human rights are essential” during his visit
to
© UN Photo /Eskinder Debebe
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/NeedOfUrgentAction.aspx
SRI LANKA - HUMAN DEVASTATION DURING CONFLICT - ASSISTANCE URGENT - UN
The Human Rights Council meets in a special session on 26
May to address the human rights consequences of the conflict in Sri Lanka. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay reiterates her call for an
international enquiry and urges the government to ensure that unimpeded
assistance promptly reaches the survivors of the conflict.
“The images of terrified and emaciated women, men and
children fleeing the battle zone ought to be etched in our collective memory.
They must spur us into action,” Pillay said in an opening address to the
special session.
She said there were “strong reasons to believe” that both
sides in the long conflict, the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE), had “grossly disregarded the fundamental principle of the
inviolability of civilians.”
“An independent and credible international investigation
into recent events should be dispatched to ascertain the occurrence, nature and
scale of violations of international human rights and international
humanitarian law, as well as specific responsibilities.”
Pillay emphasized that victims and the survivors have a
right to justice and remedies, and establishing the facts is crucial to set the
record straight regarding the conduct of all parties in the conflict.
Independent human rights monitors and the media should be
given “unfettered access to verify reports of serious violations of
international human rights and international humanitarian law which have
consequently surfaced in the course of the fighting,” she said.
The Special Procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights
Council also recommended the establishment of “an effective mechanism to
impartially inquire into all violations committed” throughout the conflict.
“A true reconciliation process requires an assessment of
what has happened and must ensure accountability and an end to impunity,” said
Magdalena Sepúlveda, Independent expert on the question of human rights and
extreme poverty, who delivered a joint statement to the special session on
behalf of all Special Procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council.
The High Commissioner also echoed Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon’s call for immediate and unimpeded access to the internally displaced
persons (IDP) camps. “Unrestricted humanitarian aid will make the difference between
life, illness or even death to many, and yet access for the UN and NGOs to the
IDP camps continues to be hampered,” she said.
The Secretary-General, who visited Sri Lanka from 22 to 23
May, also underscored that “full transparency and full respect for human rights
are essential” to the process of national recovery and reconciliation.
At the opening of the special session, Human Rights Council
President Martin Uhomoibhi spoke of the “untold hardships” suffered by millions
throughout this conflict and expressed hope that the special session would
contribute towards the cause of peace in Sri Lanka.
By convening the session, the Human Rights Council sent “a
message of readiness and willingness to work with the Government and people of
Sri Lanka towards reconstruction and development,” he said.
The special session took place following a request by
Germany on behalf 17 members of the Human Rights Council, including Argentina,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico,
Mauritius, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.
This is the eleventh special session of the Human Rights
Council. Its previous special sessions concerned Lebanon, Darfur, Myanmar, the
global food crisis, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Occupied
Palestinian Territories and the global economic and financial crises.
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