"Sri Lanka remains committed to pursuing the implementation of the recommendations of its domestic reconciliation mechanism, the LLRC," a government statement at the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva has said.
"Indeed, as we have already indicated, some of the recommendations are already in a stage of implementation," Sri Lanka's permanent representative Ravinatha Aryasinha has said in his address at the UNHRC's ongoing 20th sessions.
In the previous UNHRC sessions held in March, the council adopted a resolution sponsored by the US and backed by India, urging Sri Lanka for expeditious implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliatation Commission (LLRC) in order to achieve reconciliation with the Tamil minority.
Aryasinha in his address branded the resolution ill-conceived, completely unnecessary and unwarranted.
"It does not add any value to the ongoing domestic efforts. On the contrary, this action has caused mistrust about international processes among the people of Sri Lanka and runs counter to our domestic efforts.
"We are mindful of these concerns of our people, and will therefore resolutely pursue a home grown solution on reconciliation which has their endorsement," he said.
There are 135 main recommendations; relating to national policy; the final phase of the conflict; human rights and security issues; and on resettlement, development and humanitarian issues, he added.
He also expressed hope that the UN Human Rights High Commissioner would be able to visit Sri Lanka to ascertain the progress made in the island.
The government had earlier expressed dissatisfaction over the move to send a team of UNHRC officials headed by Pillai to monitor the progress in the human rights accountability measures adopted locally as demanded by the resolution adopted in March.
Sri Lanka's army put an end to 26 years of brutal civil war when they defeated the separatist Tamil Tigers in May 2009.
Nevertheless the final phase of that war has been a source of considerable controversy, with both sides accused of war crimes.
Human rights groups estimate that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the war. The government recently released its own estimate, concluding that about 9,000 people perished during that period.
| |
|
| |
