By Gary Anandasangaree
(June 05, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) I attended the United Nations Human Rights Council's special session on Sri Lanka in Geneva last week in hopes of ensuring that the plight of the 300,000 Tamil refugees confined in camps was not forgotten.
With aid organizations denied full access and civilians not allowed to leave the camps, I thought the international community would be compelled to make some gestures to ensure a postwar Sri Lanka would be in line with international human rights norms. I was wrong.
The 47 members of the Human Rights Council did not descend on Geneva to respond to a humanitarian crisis. Instead, most came to defend their way of life.
While Canada stood with countries like Germany, Britain and France deploring "the significant loss of human lives," urging Sri Lanka to give full and unhindered access to humanitarian organizations and calling for an investigation of human rights violations, Sri Lanka stood with countries like China, Cuba, Russia and Iran, which resolutely defended its interests. These countries supported a draft submitted by Sri Lanka that commended the government's actions toward the civilians in the camps and lauded its promotion and protection of human rights.
No mention was made of full access for humanitarian organizations, investigating human rights violations, or even examining attacks on media or human rights defenders, falling far short of the German-led calls for accountability, reconciliation and transparency.
Instead, the self-congratulatory note voted on by the Human Rights Council reaffirmed the United Nations Charter principle of "non-interference in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of states" and gave the Sri Lankan government impunity to intern, harass and kill its own citizens without international condemnation or accountability.
By writing its own ruling on its handling of this crisis, Sri Lanka affirmed the rights of sovereign states to violate the human rights of their people.
Many members were upset that a special session was called in the first place, especially as the summer session of the council was set to start a week later. I had to apologize to their excellencies, while gently reminding some of the members that membership in the council required them to respond to emergencies.
Some, like South Africa, were upset that the Human Rights Council interfered with internal state sovereignty. I had to remind Glaudine J. Mtshali, a South African member, that I campaigned from the time I was 10 against apartheid so that countries like Canada would impose sanctions on South Africa.
She clearly missed the irony that had the world considered state sovereignty more important than human rights in South Africa, she and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who are both non-white South Africans, might not be where they are today. I also gently reminded her that one's own freedom is intertwined with that of our fellow human beings.
Having failed miserably to address a grave humanitarian tragedy as it occurred or in the immediate aftermath of it, the international community appears as polarized as ever and clouded more by politics than the need to protect human rights.
Countries that ought to champion the need for the universal application of human rights instruments have failed miserably to ensure that the world does not stay silent in the midst of human tragedy.
Meanwhile, thousands of civilians continue to linger in abysmal conditions, in desperate need of medicine, food and water.
Gary Anandasangaree is a lawyer and member of the Canadian Tamil Congress. He is one of sons of Mr. V. Anandasangaree, leader of the TULF -Sri Lanka Guardian
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Hi Gary , you & your father try catch 2 birds using one stone.It is shame that some terror biased supporters attempt to hide under human rights of 300,000 for few days when 20 million SL people had to shiver for more than 30 years on terror frightened living of LTTE.Where were UN & these bogus right champions then?All of a sudden when their agenda was evaporated all these crocodile tear shedders emerged like mushrooms with a different creed.You think you guys are supreeme than those 29 countries voted for sovereign SL?In any war situation obviously there is a cost & it was manufactured by LTTE until Indian election date to impose threats if Bharathiya Janatha Party came into power..That is the truth..Could you justify Varny & other Western spices now trapped inside IDP camps?Capture of dozens of LTTE'ers like Karikalan, Yogi hiding inside?Colonel Ram approaching Karuna to surrender with 60 cadres? Country law ranks first not some opportunists' upper mentality & Western bloc learnt a fine lesson from minnows but still paid employees of UN cannot accept the reality.Who can give an account of arms dumps & other dangerous locations in North? Can you please?Cardinal truth is if West can send troops to another continent to defend their soil at any cost, SL govt. has at least the same right to defend themseleves within their soil, yesterday, today & tomorrow.
Garry A says:
"Meanwhile, thousands of civilians continue to linger in abysmal conditions, in desperate need of medicine, food and water."
No amount of UN resolutions will help the poor.
Some thing definite can be done by collecting money and purchasing supplies, medicine etc. Why isn't the Diaspora doing this?
Similar appalling conditions have prevailed for many years in the Sri Lankan IDP camps in India. (One of the sons of Mr. Chelvanayagam is doing good work helping those IDPs). Why is no one talking about those IDPs? What about the Moslem IDPs languishing in camps since 1990 in Puttalam - they were driven out of Jaffna by the LTTE. Why is nothing being said about them?
Pity the son lacks the sagacity of the father who did stayed with his people under the threat of death from one of his own kind.The elder Mr.S has risen above petty rhetoric, and young Gary has a lot to learn of world domination by the colonial west of yesteryear through people like him. Yes, why do we allow sycophant functionaries of the UN to dictate terms, which is the privilege only of sovereign nations? They should be censured if the UN is to remain a credible organisation.
It is hippocritical for a man from canada that supplied the LTTE with 200 million Dollars per year to ethnicaly cleanse the Northern Province of Sinhalese and muslims,That brutaly killed Poor Sinhala villages, Who created the Suicide Bombers etc to talk about Human Rights violations in SL.
Gary is well identified person with LTTE in Canada. He is the son of Ananada Sangaree's first wife or second wife. His uncle(mother's brother) stabbed Jaffna university student Marasingha in the 70s. Canadian Tamil organizations never send any dollars to the Tamil refugees in India or any where. They give the dollars to the LTTE only. Those who support terrorists and criminals, cry for HUMAN RIGHTS. That is a big joke!
Gary,
I am living in Australia just the same like you live in Canada. with all due respect to one's own opinion I must sadly remind you the tamils in SL was never ever subjected to discrimination like Aborogines in Aus, or any other natives in wetern countries for that matter otherwise you or your father would not have been in these positions today. The problem with most of the tmils is they live in a dream world thinking the west is superior and should be followed without questions come on mate you and I should know who they are.
Sudath
How you are talking about IDP camps in Sri Lanka Mr. Garry, Tamils in Canada cannot even go to some Tim Hortans in Mississauga without getting threatning warnings from LTTE spokesmen and their garbage lawyers.Get a life!
Mr. Gary, people like you are pushing a certain causes or agendas. You tend to write and think like the world is going to end with such atrocities and injustice. The reality is the history is jotted with innumerable tales of human suffering. All of us have encountered situations in our own right when one is totally helpless and feel like screaming out loud saying how unfair one is being treated by people/society/weather/gods/germs (when sick) and so on. But, the reality is we all survive those situations OVER TIME. For example when I was sick with flu I felt so downright horrible and wanted someone to save me, or when I broke my hand when I was a child, or pain leading to my 4 back surgeries and 3 knee surgeries, or when my teacher humiliated me in front of the class, etc.
My point is we all overcome suffering and “TIME will heal all wounds”. I feel the 300000 IDPs will feel the same in 1 years time. What they are going through now is probably the most unpleasant and I can see they “Screaming out loud” telling of their suffering and how nobody else can see/hear them when they have to stand in line for 4 hours with their leg paining, half starving, no shade, about to faint, crammed in tents with 10 people, sleeping on the ground, etc. If you are alive there is always a rainbow after the rain. You need suffering to put other things into perspective. How would you even know what it is like if you have not experienced it in the past? Yes it might be unnecessary suffering. But, who advocates for “necessary suffering”?. Even the LTTE used the human shields for their survival. As dastardly as it is, it was a means to an end. The people who survived that experience and the IDP situation will lead a very good rest of their life and will appreciate what little they have when it is all over and even simple pleasures in life such as a sun-rise.
My advice to you is to let the Sri Lankan government do what they and help the IDPs. The IDPs will survive and prosper in the future. You will get over your immediate feeling of loss of LTTE, your loss of “Dream of Eelam” and feeling of hopelessness OVER TIME.
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