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In the run-up to Wednesday's elections to the UN Human Rights Council, Nobel laureates Desmond Tutu, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, and Jimmy Carter have all issued statements opposing Sri Lanka's candidacy. The case against Sri Lanka, according to Tutu:
Sri Lanka has failed to honour its pledges of upholding human rights standards and cooperating with the UN since joining the council two years ago. Indeed, its human rights record has worsened during that time. The Sri Lankan idea of cooperation with the UN, meanwhile, has been to condemn senior UN officials (including the high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, and the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes) as "terrorists" or "terrorist sympathisers."The systematic abuses by Sri Lankan government forces are among the most serious imaginable. Government security forces summarily remove their own citizens from their homes and families in the middle of the night, never to be heard from again. Torture and extrajudicial killings are widespread. When the human rights council was established, UN members required that states elected must themselves "uphold the highest standards" of human rights. On that count, Sri Lanka is clearly disqualified.
Opposition to Sri Lankan membership in the Council -- the successor to the Human Rights Commission, which was much-maligned for its regular inclusion of rights-abusing and abusive regimes -- does seem to have crystallized among NGOs and human rights activists. While the new Council is by no means a paragon of human rights monitoring -- passing more resolutions that condemned Israel than those that censured Sudan, for example -- the campaign to tighten the standards of countries accepted into the body reveals how far the Council has come. Last year, Belarus' candidacy flopped, deterring notorious human rights offenders like Sudan and Zimbabwe from even attempting to stand for election. Sri Lanka may well not be pleased with the negative attention is receiving, but ultimately, both the Human Rights Council and the human rights situation within Sri Lanka stand to benefit.
Comments
Tutu has supported Mugabe during his worse and most horendous period. I don't see how he has any credibility. No doubt the catholic church sees a predominantly budhist country fighting hard against unethical conversions by the catholic church as a real threat. really sad.
Posted by: andrew donavan at May 19, 2008 9:59 PM
There is need to consider Human righs issues by member states as crusial.Many countries sign treaties but implementation become problems.The challenges remains the capacity the the security sectors to recognise human dignity as foundamental rights,thei call for strenghtening the security sector through traing in specific areas of human rights violation,control of torture,and all member states reaffirm commitment to all the treaties the have signed.We need global action for human righyts violation and every countries need to regularly infor the The UN secretary general in writtings aboiut the status and and implementation progresas of human rights.There is need to train and strenghten thye capacity of the civil society,public/privates institution \human rights institution and police to adhere and ve charge with responsibilities ti investigate all th abuses against humanity.
sinceerely,
Opio Moses Korsuk
UNF?BWC +256 477169695
Posted by: Opio moses korsuk at May 20, 2008 6:25 AM
this opposition to sri lanka is ridiculous and based on ignorance and misinformation
if "senior UN officials (including the high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, and the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes)" has been condemned that is because they have unquestionably accepted the word of terrorists. they accused innocent people of human rights violations ( and of "summarily remove their own citizens from their homes and families in the middle of the night, never to be heard from again." and of "Torture and extrajudicial killings are widespread".)without a shred of evidence, based solely on the word of ltte terrorist propaganda.
In spite of repeated requests they have failed to produce any other evidence back their claims.
in fact minister fernandopulle who called john holmes a terrorist was killed by terrorists last month . just shows that terrorists know who their friends are . may be these people will approve that killing ?
these people who accuse sri lanka
have deliberately ignored rights of all sri lankans. especially those who have to live under the ltte terrorists control or are threatened by ltte.
anyone who try to coerce sri lankan government to make peace with ltte against wishes of sri lankans whose rights, including right to life, will definitely be violated by that action, will be guilty of callous violations of human rights. do they want to be murderers?
if not they should inform themselves more fully about the situation in sri lanka before making accusations. they should look for substantiated evidence for their accusations, and talk to all sri lankans not just a section of terrorist parroting english speaking pseudo elite in colombo who have seen their privileges dilute since independence and market reforms here.
Posted by: siittingnut at May 20, 2008 9:32 AM
we embrace peace full settlement of all the people that are and commited to human rights violation.The challenges of understanding what terrorist and human rights violation is enomous.Most people do not understand that terrorism is violation of human dignity.
We all call for peacefull co-existance of each nation and protection of sovereignty.The full commitment to the international treaties becomes nobel course that is increadible.
Posted by: Opio moses korsuk at May 22, 2008 4:19 AM
ltte terrorism is very dangerous. they fooled even nobel prize winners like jimmy and desmond tutu.
here there are some links from defence.lk to see how barbaric is ltte terrorism .
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20060615_04&cat=LTTE
http://defence.lk/picturegallery/pic.asp?cat=LTTE
http://defence.lk/picturegallery/picc.asp?tfile=Dambulla_Blast&cat=LTTE
why thes persons dont take any action against ltte.
jimmy carter & desmond tutu why the hell you support this barbaric terrorism.
Posted by: Ushan at June 23, 2008 4:13 AM