Arbour: Sri Lanka's weakness of law, prevalence of impunity alarming

(October, 13, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)The large numbers of Sri Lankans reported killed, abducted and "disappeared" amid civil war underscores the weakness of the rule of law in the country, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour said. Saturday.

International rights activists have accused the government and the LTTE of brazen human rights violations, and have called for the creation of a U.N. monitoring mission in the Country.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, Louise Arbour implied she would support such a mission, saying her office should send people to promote and protect human rights and help publish "more credible and clearly independent information."

"One of the major human rights shortcomings in Sri Lanka is rooted in the absence of reliable and authoritative information on the credible allegations of human rights abuses," she said.

However, Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who attended the news conference with Arbour, dismissed any type of monitoring mission out of hand.

"The government position is very clear. We are not willing to discuss in any way the U.N. presence in Sri Lanka for monitoring purposes, neither are we ready to discuss the opening of an office of the high commissioner in Sri Lanka," he said.

Instead, Samarasinghe said, the government is willing to work with Arbour's office and others in sharing technical expertise and training local staff to face human rights challenges.

Arbour expressed concern about the "large number of reported killings, abductions and disappearances which remain unresolved."

"In the context of the armed conflict and of the emergency measures taken against terrorism, the weakness of the rule of law and prevalence of impunity is alarming," she said at the conclusion of a five-day mission to the country.

During her trip, she met with different political leaders and traveled to the volatile Jaffna peninsula in the north. She did not travel to LTTE-controlled area, reportedly because the government refused her permission.

Arbour said the government told her of its initiatives to address accusations of human rights abuses, but "there has yet to be an adequate and credible public accounting for the vast majority of these incidents."

"In the absence of more vigorous investigations, prosecution and convictions, it is hard to see how this will come to an end," Arbour said.

The government has come under increasing international pressure in recent months over allegations of abuse, which it denies.