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Sri Lanka refuses external probes into alleged human rights violations

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on Sunday dismissed calls from Amnesty International (AI) to publish the official death toll during the finals weeks of the armed conflict that ended earlier this month. Bogollagama said that only Sri Lankan courts will be permitted to investigate both alleged human rights violations and the number of civilian deaths that occurred during the final weeks of the conflict. AI has called for an independent investigation into the matter, while the UN Under-Secretary-General John Holmes has said that it will be very difficult to accurately assess such a number. Media sources have continued to decry the numbers circulated by Sri Lankan authorities and the United Nations as ranging as much as three times below the actual number of deaths. The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution last week that welcomed the end of the conflict but failed to call for an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed during the conflict. Aid workers and the international community have expressed concern over human rights violations during and after the Sri Lankan conflict. Despite a joint statement issued by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa about allowing full humanitarian access to refugee or "welfare" camps, the Sri Lankan government has continued to restrict access alleging an ongoing security screening for any remaining rebels.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 31, 2009 (boomark / email).