UNHRC warns Sri Lanka over war crimes

New Delhi: The UNHRC has issued a stern warning to Sri Lanka over intimidation of human rights activists by local activists. The UN is calling these threats unprecedented alleging intimidation by members of NGOs, families of victims and also a few Sri Lankan officials.

Many activists and officials are in fact in Geneva to lobby against a US resolution that seeks action against alleged Sri Lankan war crimes. However, the draft was accepted by the UN on Thursday. India was one of those that voted in favour of the resolution, upsetting the Lankan govt.

The spokesperson of the UNHRC claimed that the Lankan government owned media was intentionally inciting hatred against the human rights workers.

Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, "we've drawn attention to the extraordinary levels of harassment and intimidation by Lankan officials directed at human right defenders and what's been up in Sri Lanka."

India's envoy to the United Nations Dilip Sinha said, "It's in line with our foreign policy so we could support it. we amended it so that the human rights commission is in consultation with Sri Lanka. We hope it will not cause friction between us and Sri Lanka."

Earlier in an apparent reference to India, Sri Lanka said "certain domestic compulsions" had forced some of its neighbours and traditional friends to vote against it at the UNHRC censuring Colombo for alleged rights abuses during the civil war against LTTE.

Slamming the US-sponsored resolution adopted by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Sri Lanka said it had countered the cardinal principle of international law.

With 24 votes for, 15 against and 8 abstentions, the UNHRC adopted the resolution which noted with concern that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), an internal inquiry report in Sri Lanka, does not adequately address "serious allegations" of violations of international law during the final stages of the ethnic conflict between the Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE.

India had initially shown reluctance to vote on a nation-specific resolution but had to change its stand under severe pressure from political parties in Tamil Nadu, particularly DMK which had threatened to pull out its ministers from the UPA government at the Centre.

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