Respect for International Law by Sri Lanka warring parties urged
United Nations Human Rights Chief Urges Respect for International Law with the End of Ceasefire in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan government’s move to scrap a six-year ceasefire with rebels could trigger renewed fighting that could have a devastating effect on rights of civilians, the U.N.’s top human rights official said on a statement released on Tuesday, January 15th.
Reporting on UN High Commissioner’s statement, Reuters news reports said that, “The government’s move to annul the ceasefire, which technically expires on Wednesday but degenerated on the ground into renewed war in 2006, has shocked the international community and is seen as ruining any hopes of resurrecting peace talks soon.”
Full Text of Statement:
As the Ceasefire Agreement in Sri Lanka is due to effectively end on 16 January 2008, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, reminded the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of their obligations under international law to respect human rights.
“An intensification of hostilities will likely have a devastating effect on the human rights of many Sri Lankans from all communities,” the High Commissioner said.
The High Commissioner noted that international law obliges all parties to protect civilians without discrimination and includes prohibitions against the arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detention, forced displacement, enforced disappearances, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It also forbids the recruitment and deployment of children as soldiers.
The High Commissioner warned that violations of these rules by any party could entail individual criminal responsibility under international criminal law, including by those in positions of command.
The High Commissioner visited Sri Lanka in October 2007. In her dialogue with the Government she has stressed the critical need for independent, public reporting on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and the readiness of her Office to assist in this regard.
