In March, during the virtual 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, the body’s members put forward a resolution calling on the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to “collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve information and evidence” pertaining to human rights violations in Sri Lanka. This will include alleged war crimes committed during the island nation’s long-running civil war, from 1983 to 2009, and subsequent violations against Tamil and Muslim minorities.
The concerns and aspirations expressed in the resolution reiterate issues the OHCHR flagged in January. That report recommended targeted sanctions and travel bans against alleged war criminals, although the HRC resolution does not go this far. With 22 countries supporting the resolution, 11 opposing it, and 14 abstaining, the Sri Lankan foreign minister in particular is spinning the outcome as a victory, given that a majority opposed the resolution or abstained. In fact, though, the resolution will still potentially enable the international community to prosecute individuals if it claims jurisdiction.
