Dear Editor,
This is an open letter to the Commonwealth Secretary-General
Kamalesh Sharma
We write once again to bring your attention to the disturbing state of human rights in Sri Lanka and the grave implications of holding the 2013 Commonwealth Summit in that country. We have previously drawn your attention to the UN Secretary General's Panel of Experts, which found serious allegations of international humanitarian law violations in Sri Lanka credible and called for international investigations as well as justice and accountability.
These calls have been widely echoed by a number of governments and credible international actors all over the world. Several UN experts have also found evidence of grave human rights violations such as extra-judicial killings, and there are regular reports of ongoing human rights violations within Sri Lanka, including serious allegations such as enforced disappearances. Basic freedoms such as freedom of expression have been under severe threat, making Sri Lanka one of the most dangerous places in the world for independent media.
Much of this has now re-entered the international limelight with the UN's admission of its own failure to carry out its role during the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. The UN's latest report clearly shows that Sri Lanka wilfully obstructed humanitarian work and engaged in the intimidation of neutral international actors in order to ensure that there were no witnesses to human rights and humanitarian law violations and massive civilian deaths.
As demonstrated most recently, in its actions threatening devolution and the judiciary, Sri Lanka has once again made very clear its willingness to act unconstitutionally and against the Commonwealth's core values of rule of law, human rights, and separation of powers.
Much credible documentation now exists on the ways in which independent state institutions such as the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission have been stifled through executive interference. In a statement released on November 14, 2012, the UN Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers was heavily critical of the government's continued attacks on the judiciary. The government is now in the process of impeaching the chief justice. We welcome your recent expression of concern on this. However, we urge you to take account also of the cumulative effect of a series of such actions by the government, which together make holding the Commonwealth Summit in the country inappropriate.
The Canadian prime minister has already asserted that he would not attend the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka until the human rights situation in the country improves. On November 14, a powerful committee of the UK Parliament recommended that the UK prime minister should not attend the Commonwealth Summit.
Even as disquiet on the question of holding the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka increases, the Commonwealth Secretariat has in fact pushed for full attendance. It is morally indefensible to continue to stand by and allow Sri Lanka to unconditionally host the association's premier meeting and go on to chair it for the next two years. This would seriously undermine the Commonwealth's values, which have only recently been re-affirmed in 2009 and are supposed to be enshrined into a Commonwealth Charter in 2013.
We repeat our call to you, as the highest official of the Commonwealth, to uphold the Commonwealth's commitments to its fundamental values and pursue a course of action that sees the establishment of a series of benchmarks which the Sri Lankan government needs to fulfil, in order to be fit for a Commonwealth Summit. We have previously given you a list of such benchmarks - they include credible international investigations into allegations of humanitarian law violations and the restoration of fundamental freedoms for all populations within Sri Lanka - and we stand by this list.
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
New Delhi, India
Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice
London, England
Improve human rights in Sri Lanka
-->
This is an open letter to the Commonwealth Secretary-General
Kamalesh Sharma
We write once again to bring your attention to the disturbing state of human rights in Sri Lanka and the grave implications of holding the 2013 Commonwealth Summit in that country. We have previously drawn your attention to the UN Secretary General's Panel of Experts, which found serious allegations of international humanitarian law violations in Sri Lanka credible and called for international investigations as well as justice and accountability.
These calls have been widely echoed by a number of governments and credible international actors all over the world. Several UN experts have also found evidence of grave human rights violations such as extra-judicial killings, and there are regular reports of ongoing human rights violations within Sri Lanka, including serious allegations such as enforced disappearances. Basic freedoms such as freedom of expression have been under severe threat, making Sri Lanka one of the most dangerous places in the world for independent media.
Much of this has now re-entered the international limelight with the UN's admission of its own failure to carry out its role during the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. The UN's latest report clearly shows that Sri Lanka wilfully obstructed humanitarian work and engaged in the intimidation of neutral international actors in order to ensure that there were no witnesses to human rights and humanitarian law violations and massive civilian deaths.
As demonstrated most recently, in its actions threatening devolution and the judiciary, Sri Lanka has once again made very clear its willingness to act unconstitutionally and against the Commonwealth's core values of rule of law, human rights, and separation of powers.
Much credible documentation now exists on the ways in which independent state institutions such as the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission have been stifled through executive interference. In a statement released on November 14, 2012, the UN Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers was heavily critical of the government's continued attacks on the judiciary. The government is now in the process of impeaching the chief justice. We welcome your recent expression of concern on this. However, we urge you to take account also of the cumulative effect of a series of such actions by the government, which together make holding the Commonwealth Summit in the country inappropriate.
The Canadian prime minister has already asserted that he would not attend the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka until the human rights situation in the country improves. On November 14, a powerful committee of the UK Parliament recommended that the UK prime minister should not attend the Commonwealth Summit.
Even as disquiet on the question of holding the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka increases, the Commonwealth Secretariat has in fact pushed for full attendance. It is morally indefensible to continue to stand by and allow Sri Lanka to unconditionally host the association's premier meeting and go on to chair it for the next two years. This would seriously undermine the Commonwealth's values, which have only recently been re-affirmed in 2009 and are supposed to be enshrined into a Commonwealth Charter in 2013.
We repeat our call to you, as the highest official of the Commonwealth, to uphold the Commonwealth's commitments to its fundamental values and pursue a course of action that sees the establishment of a series of benchmarks which the Sri Lankan government needs to fulfil, in order to be fit for a Commonwealth Summit. We have previously given you a list of such benchmarks - they include credible international investigations into allegations of humanitarian law violations and the restoration of fundamental freedoms for all populations within Sri Lanka - and we stand by this list.
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
New Delhi, India
Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice
London, England
Improve human rights in Sri Lanka
-->