The Sri Lanka government has “clearly instructed” the military that all the land obtained from civilians must be released latest by 2018, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Wednesday.
In his response to an oral update by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Samaraweera said in respect of land required for national installations or development purposes, owners would be “fully compensated.”
Giving an account of the government’s plans on accountability and reconciliation, the Minister denied the contention made in certain quarters that sequencing of reconciliation mechanisms was a delay tactic or means to omit the component of justice. The Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms was consulting experts and working on obtaining the required training and capacity building for the relevant mechanisms.
Describing as a “milestone” in Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process the Cabinet’s approval of the draft bill on Office on Missing Persons, he said the draft legislation to give effect to the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance would be presented to the Cabinet in July.
A national policy on durable solutions for conflict affected displacement had been evolved through “wide consultations.” The policy was presently before Cabinet for approval. A Committee was now putting the final touches to the first draft of the new counter-terrorism legislation that would replace the “much criticised and much abused” Prevention of Terrorism Act.
He acknowledged that “despite the government maintaining a zero tolerance policy on torture, its incidence has not ceased, although reduced.” The assistance of the National Human Rights and Police Commissions in Sri Lanka had been sought to create greater public awareness and initiate the necessary public discourse required.
On, what he called, more serious and controversial issue of setting up a judicial mechanism with international assistance, he justified the prevalence of divergent views on the issue and said “divergent views are indicative of a healthy democracy and consultative process.” At the same time, he assured the Human Rights Council that “the mechanism that is finally set up will be one which has the confidence of the stakeholders, especially the victims, with fair trial and due process guarantees.” Mr Samaraweera added that “the road ahead is certainly challenging, but it is powered by our determination and resolve to achieve reconciliation.”
