(Geneva) The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights decried Sri Lankas slow progress on its reform pledges in his report to the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein speaks during a news conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka on February 9, 2016.

2016 Reuters

High Commissioner Zeid Raad Al Hussein acknowledged certain positive developments, but said that the government failed to adopt a time-bound comprehensive strategy on transitional justice, and called on the council to continue monitoring Sri Lankan compliance with resolution 30/1 of October 2015.

The UN high commissioner paints a picture that is in stark contrast to the rosy claims of the Sri Lankan government, said John Fisher, Geneva director. Zeids report bolsters findings by UN independent experts and Sri Lankan rights groups that meaningful government action is needed, particularly on accountability and justice.

The high commissioners report expressed particular concern that the government had not even begun preparatory work on establishing a judicial mechanism with foreign judges and other judicial officers, one of the four transitional justice mechanisms under the resolution. Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations have cited presidential statements in opposition to that undertaking as evidence of the governments unwillingness to create a court that would try serious crimes committed by both sides in the countrys 27-year-long civil war, which ended in 2009.

Geneva Director

The report also raised other human rights issues in Sri Lanka, including the wide use of torture and the lack of security sector reform, notably the failure to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act. It highlights the governments poor record in investigating and prosecuting emblematic cases of killings, enforced disappearances, and torture during and since the armed conflict, and in bringing an end to longstanding impunity.

The high commissioners report notes progress on public consultations involving constitutional reforms and transitional justice. However, it strongly recommends that the government embrace the report of the government-appointed transitional justice Consultation Task Force, which calls for a hybrid judicial mechanism based on wide-reaching consultations across all communities. Human Rights Watch and others have pointed out the governments disregard for the task force in Sri Lanka even while it takes credit for its report in Geneva and other international forums.

The high commissioners report spotlights just how far there is to go before the promise of reconciliation, justice, and reform in Sri Lanka becomes a reality, Fisher said. The Human Rights Council needs to engage meaningfully with both the high commissioners report and the Consultation Task Force report, and adopt a substantive resolution to urge acceptance of its recommendations, request an implementation timetable, and ensure continued international scrutiny until the Sri Lankan government delivers on its commitments in full.

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Sri Lanka: UN Official Calls Progress 'Worryingly Slow' - Human Rights Watch (press release)