International Human Rights Day statement by Rev. Dr S.J. Emmanuel
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
On this day in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted. This landmark document recognises the inherent dignity, equality and inalienable rights of all human beings. The promotion and protection of these precepts is, as the UDHR states, “the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
1948 also marks the year that Sri Lanka gained independence from the British Empire. However, throughout the last six decades since independence was secured and the UDHR came into being, human rights violations in Sri Lanka – particularly those committed against the Tamil people as a whole and against individual Tamil citizens – have been commonplace.
Nearly three decades of democratic and non-violent protests by Tamils, in opposition to their systematic and state-sponsored marginalisation and oppression, produced only an escalation in the discrimination, death and displacement of the Tamil people. Left without any international support to protect them against the shocking actions of the Sri Lankan state, Tamil youth resorted to a militant response which resulted in the armed conflict that lasted until May 2009.
The international community, which tended towards a policy of non-intervention in internal conflicts, failed to protect the Tamil people from decades of oppression and human rights violations as well as from the massacre perpetrated against tens of thousands of civilians in the final months of the war.
As we observe International Human Rights Day, and mourn the recent passing away of Nelson Mandela - an icon of human rights defenders, I draw your attention to the on-going violations in Sri Lanka. The damning analysis of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, who visited the island in August 2013, has comprehensively exposed the dire ground realities in the country. She expressed her grave concerns regarding the “curtailment or denial of personal freedoms and human rights […] persistent impunity and the failure of the rule of law.” Sri Lanka “is heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction.” The actions of the Government, which are impending reconciliation and normalisation following the end of the armed conflict in 2009, have the potential to “sow the seeds of future discord.”
Women are facing increasing levels of sexual violence and insecurity. Islamic, Hindu and Christian sites and structures have been desecrated, and their respective cultural practices insulted. Suspected ex-combatants and political prisoners, many of whom are Tamils, are still detained without trial or access to legal representation and face the threat of torture whilst in custody. The militarisation of the Tamil majority North and East of the island has displaced civilians, restricted economic opportunities and seen a clampdown on freedom of movement, expression and assembly.
Our desire for an end to this plight lies in the hope that the international community - represented by the UN and Heads of Governments - has finally woken up to the need to ensure truth, justice and accountability for the Tamils and to help find a peaceful political solution, which respects all the articles of the UDHR. In addition, the recent visit of the British Prime Minister to Sri Lanka – who became the first serving Head of Government of any country to visit Jaffna, the traditional homeland of Tamils, since 1948 – has focussed attention on the Tamil struggle.
Today I salute my brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka, who are courageously standing up for the UDHR, and pay tribute to all those victims who continue to suffer at the hands of President Rajapaksa’s regime. Sustainable peace on the island can only take root if the values and principles of the UDHR, signed 65 years ago today, are upheld.