Global Tamil Forum welcomes the OHCHR report and calls for its full implementation
Friday, September 18, 2015
The London-based Tamil Diaspora organization, the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has welcomed the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report on the war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the war and called for its full implementation
The report released Wednesday by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein strongly indicated that there were strong indications that both Sri Lanka government forces and LTTE Tamil rebels committed serious crimes against humanity and recommended the establishment of an internationalized Special Court for criminal prosecution.
GTF said it is in full agreement with the report, which called for adopting a "hybrid special court" that would include international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators mandated to try war crimes and crimes against humanity and resource the court to try those responsible for the atrocities.
"Such a mechanism will be essential to give confidence to all Sri Lankans, in particular the victims, in the independence and impartiality of the process, particularly given the politicization and highly polarized environment in Sri Lanka," the report said.
Member states must ensure that the forthcoming resolution at the UNHRC clearly articulates the need to include substantial participation of international personnel at each stage of the investigation and trial process, the GTF said.
"We are grateful to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (both past and present), his staff and all who contributed for the important work that went into producing this report. Undoubtedly, this whole exercise, the three UNHRC resolutions passed between 2012 and 2014 and the OHCHR investigation and report, restores confidence in the UN system as a whole to all communities and particularly to the Tamil community," the diaspora organization said.
The GTF said it is important to acknowledge and pay tribute to the survivors who bravely came forward to share their stories and relive their horrific experiences, despite the fear and uncertainty they face, without which this report would not have been a reality.
GTF called on the member states of the UNHRC to adopt a resolution that captures all the recommendations of the OHCHR report, including establishing a Special Court, and called upon the Government of Sri Lanka to fully cooperate.
"As stated by Prince Zeid, 'this Council (UNHRC) owes it to Sri Lankans - and to its own credibility - to ensure an accountability process that produces results, decisively moves beyond the failures of the past, and brings the deep institutional changes needed to guarantee non-recurrence," the Tamil organization said.
"On our part, GTF acknowledges the violations and abuses suffered by all communities and heeds to Prince Zeid's call and view the report as "an opportunity to change discourse from one of absolute denial to one of acknowledgment and constructive engagement to bring about change."
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