Geneva: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Wednesday called on Sri Lankan authorities to prosecute war criminals, stating that they continue to enjoy impunity.
In a 16-page report on Sri Lanka presented to the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Colombo’s authorities to end the impunity still enjoyed by war criminals in the country, noting that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government still has a chance to restore Sri Lanka’s image.
He stated that Sri Lanka today has an opportunity to break from the past with a government committed to addressing longstanding problems, emphasizing that this must begin with official acknowledgment of past violations, abuses, and crimes, particularly those committed during the civil war.
Turk also stressed the need to translate the commitments made by the government elected last September into a coherent plan with clear deadlines, calling on the international community to support Colombo’s efforts.
At the same time, he warned that if Sri Lanka fails to fulfill its promises, other countries should resort to international justice to prosecute war criminals in the country.
Although the Sri Lankan government agreed in 2015 before the UN Human Rights Council to address the sensitive issue of war crimes, successive governments later backtracked and have yet to fulfill their promises to prosecute those responsible.
The United Nations estimates that at least 100,000 people were killed during the civil war between 1972 and 2009. UN reports accused Sri Lankan forces of killing at least 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the conflict, an allegation denied by successive governments.
