Wigneswaran expresses concerns over UN resolution

October 1, 2015

Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, on Wednesday expressed concerns over “some of the serious weaknesses” in a draft resolution on Sri Lanka, which is likely to be adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday.

In a statement, Mr. Wigneswaran, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, said any attempt to entrust the responsibility of prosecution with any local prosecutor “can never bring justice to victims”.

In this context, he referred to reservations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights about a domestic judicial mechanism going into allegations of human rights violations. The draft resolution’s “failure” to propose a mechanism that could gain the support and confidence of the victims “is a matter of grave concern”.

However, he called the resolution an “important step forward.” The document has set a number of markers and “key recommendations.”

He called for “the most rigorous monitoring [of implementation of the resolution] and proactive involvement of international community” to ensure “the kind of progress which all the communities of Sri Lanka deserve”.

Meanwhile, an appeal by a host of civil society organisations based in Northern and Eastern Provinces and four political parties said they were receptive to the idea of a credible hybrid mechanism if it’s being led by its international component under the aegis of the UN.