{"id":28506,"date":"2014-03-03T17:40:36","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T22:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28506"},"modified":"2014-03-03T20:28:45","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T01:28:45","slug":"rajapaksa-regime-under-fire-by-canada-and-uk-as-unhrc-sessions-get-underway-in-geneva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28506","title":{"rendered":"Rajapaksa Regime Under Fire by Canada and UK as UNHRC Sessions get Underway in Geneva."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Sri Lanka came in for flak early into the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, with the United Kingdom and Canada strongly pushing for international action over the country\u2019s failure to address alleged abuses during the war.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/CFM030414.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/CFM030414-600x323.jpg\" alt=\"CFM030414\" width=\"600\" height=\"323\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-28526\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe time has come for international action with regard to Sri Lanka,\u201d said UK\u2019s Minister of State at the Foreign Office, Hugo Swire, who said Pillay\u2019s report on the country\u2019s progress in addressing accountability and reconciliation was \u2018unambiguous\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Swire said Britain hoped the Human Rights Council would unite to support the call for an international investigation into alleged human rights abuses on both sides.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Britain has pledged to push for an international inquiry to alleged crimes committed in Sri Lanka, following a visit to Colombo by Prime Minister David Cameron late last year. US Ambassador to the UN and member of President Barack Obama\u2019s Cabinet, Samantha Power, who was expected to speak at the Council yesterday, has been rescheduled to speak this afternoon instead. The US will present a third resolution on Sri Lanka at the Council, the first draft of which will be circulated in Geneva this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Government of Sri Lanka has failed to ensure independent and credible investigations into alleged abuses and violations by both sides,\u201d the UK Minister said. Swire added that a majority of recommendations from successive resolutions at the Council had been unimplemented and the Government of Sri Lanka had not accepted offers of technical assistance from the UN.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Council has a duty, to act on the findings of the report that we collectively commissioned and establish the truth,\u201d Swire said, referring to Pillay\u2019s report.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/link.brightcove.com\/services\/player\/bcpid1722935254001\/?bctid=3284795600001&#038;autoStart=false&#038;secureConnections=true&#038;width=480&#038;height=270\" ><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Lynne Yelich Canadian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular said Canada regretted the Sri Lankan Government\u2019s unwillingness to engage constructively on the substance of various reports or take genuine steps for accountability and reconciliation. \u201cPrevious internal mechanisms have remained secret, partial or unfulfilled,\u201d Yelich told the Council in her speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the absence of credible actions by the Government of Sri Lanka, Canada supports the call for an international inquiry mechanism,\u201d the Minister charged.<\/p>\n<p>Signalling that Sri Lanka is going to be a front and centre issue at the 25th Session, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon kicked off proceedings in Geneva yesterday, stressing the need for accountability and welcoming the report on Sri Lanka by his Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay.<\/p>\n<p>UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Pillay made her last opening speech before the Council, as her term ends in August 2014. \u201cHuman rights violations are often the first tremors on the ground, that can signal potential larger scale violence,\u201d the High Commissioner said, opening the 25th Session.<\/p>\n<p>Issuing a poignant call, Pillay said leaders who fail to heed voices raised for human rights often find themselves called into account and sooner or later lose their power. \u201cRespect for human rights is not a mere legal obligation, but also bestows legitimacy on those leaders who ensure this respect,\u201d the High Commissioner noted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is vital that the full truth of past events is known and accountability be pursued, for this is the only way to achieve stability,\u201d Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas told the Council, on behalf of the EU High Representative.<\/p>\n<p>After four years, the European Union has restarted its dialogue with Sri Lanka and is hopeful this can facilitate real reform to the situation on the ground alongside accountability for past crimes, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece said.<\/p>\n<p>The Sri Lankan Government will present its case for the first time tomorrow (5) when External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris addresses the 47-member Council in the morning to deliver the National Statement.<br \/>\n<em>COURTESY: DailyFT<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"tweetbutton28506\" class=\"tw_button\" style=\"float:right;margin-left:10px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdbsjeyaraj.com%2Fdbsj%2F%3Fp%3D28506&amp;text=Rajapaksa%20Regime%20Under%20Fire%20by%20Canada%20and%20UK%20as%20UNHRC%20Sessions%20get%20Underway%20in%20Geneva.&amp;related=&amp;lang=en&amp;count=horizontal\" class=\"twitter-share-button\"  style=\"width:55px;height:22px;background:transparent url('https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-tweet-button\/tweetn.png') no-repeat  0 0;text-align:left;text-indent:-9999px;display:block;\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sri Lanka came in for flak early into the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, with the United Kingdom and Canada strongly pushing for international action over the country\u2019s failure to address alleged abuses during the war. \u201cThe time has come for international action with regard to Sri Lanka,\u201d said UK\u2019s Minister of &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28506\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading &lsquo;Rajapaksa Regime Under Fire by Canada and UK as UNHRC Sessions get Underway in Geneva.&rsquo; &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28506"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28506"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28525,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28506\/revisions\/28525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}