The UN’s ‘grave failure’ in Sri Lanka demands an Answer Posted on September 27, 2023 By Admin FRANCES HARRISON THE GLOBE AND MAIL Last updated Friday, Nov. 16 2012, 4:37 PM EST It’s been called Ban Ki-moon’s Rwanda moment: a little-reported war three years ago on a tiny Indian Ocean island where tens of thousands of civilians were slaughtered, waiting for the United Nations to come and rescue them. What happened in Sri Lanka in 2009 has come back to haunt the UN with the leak of an internal inquiry commissioned by the Secretary-General. The independent report concluded that the UN’s own conduct during the final months of Sri Lanka’s civil war marked a “grave failure.” There was damning criticism of senior staff, who “simply did not perceive the prevention of killing of civilians as their responsibility.” Britain’s Cameron urged to follow Harper’s lead on Sri Lanka rights abuses 27 inmates killed after Sri Lankan prison riot Slaying of Tamil-Canadian underscores enduring ethnic violence in Sri Lanka Would the entire report have seen the light of day if a draft hadn’t been leaked to the BBC? A reluctant UN in New York had to publish the document, but chose to do so without its powerful executive summary that set the conflict in the context of post-9/11 global attitudes to terrorism that tragically skewed the reporting of the bloodshed. Internal communications show senior UN officials struggling to portray the proscribed terrorist group, the Tamil Tigers, as the ones primarily to blame for the killings. Read Full Article Uncategorized
Girl was raped by Navy Men for 11 Days – TNA MP Posted on September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 The 11-year old girl, who was raped by navy personnel, said that the men kidnapped her during the day, raped her and released her in the afternoons for 11 days, TNA MP Saravanabhavan told media, after visiting the victim’s parents in Karainagar. The MP said that the victim revealed that… Read More
Panel of Experts finds Credible Reports of War Crimes during Sri Lanka Conflict – UN Posted on October 2, 2023October 2, 2023 25 April 2011 – The panel of experts set up to adviseSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon on accountability issues with respect to the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka has found credible reports of war crimes committed by both the Government and Tamil rebels and calls for genuine investigations into the allegations,… Read More
OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) Posted on September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 Terms of Reference Mandate and reporting obligations In its resolution A/HRC/25/1 adopted in March 2014 on “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka”, the United Nations Human Rights Council requested the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to “undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human… Read More