“Such a mechanism will be essential to give Many brave survivors and witnesses came forward to confidence to all Sri Lankans, in particular provide evidence and the UN has publicly paid trib- the victims, in the independence and impar- ute to their courage in doing so despite the trauma tiality of the process, particularly given the they have suffered and pressures and intimidation politicization. [...] The UN investigation exposed “patterns of persistent and large scale violations” of international human The new Sri Lankan leadership responded construc- rights and humanitarian law in Sri Lanka, including tively to the UN report and worked with member “particularly brutal use of torture by the Sri Lankan states of the UN Human Rights Council to agree a security forces, particularly in the immedia. [...] There was a consensus in the group that the UNHigh Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Regular UN oversight of the human rights situation Al Hussein, should visit Sri Lanka to deliver a strong is especially important to the group because of the message to the President and Prime Minister about catastrophic consequences of the UN’s withdrawal the need for Sri Lanka to comply with the c. [...] sioner to explore during his visit how the UN canplay 4 WHY JUSTICE FOR TORTURE SURVIVORS IS IMPORTANT FOR THE FUTURE OF SRI LANKA The vital importance of justice is a recurring theme The group also emphasised the intrinsic value of in discussions we have with torture survivors from Sri truth-telling as a way of exposing and validating Lanka and many other parts of the world. [...] Welcomes the recognition by the Government of Sri Lanka that accountability is essential to uphold the rule of law and to build confidence in the people of all communities of Sri Lanka in the justice system...
- Pages
- 12
- Published in
- United Kingdom
