Sun, Mar 24, 2013, 01:31 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
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Mar 24, Colombo: The United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele Sison speaking of the next steps following the adoption of the second resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva last week has said that international mechanisms can be appropriate in cases where states are either unable or unwilling to meet their obligations. She has told an English weekly the international community is committed to discussing post-Geneva in building international consensus on the most practical way forward. One of those ways forward, articulated at the UNHRC in the resolution on a comment by the US Ambassador to Geneva, was looking for a constructive role of the Office of the High Commission of Human Rights.
"As we move forward from Geneva we renew our consideration of all options available in the UNHRC and beyond," she has said.
When inquired what was meant by "beyond," Sison has noted that international mechanisms can be appropriate in cases where states are either unable or unwilling to meet its own obligations.
She has pointed out that the government has had ample time and space to address a number of concerns, especially to address allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws.
The Ambassador has said that the vote at the UNHRC was clear that the international community encouraged the government of Sri Lanka to fulfill its own obligations to its people and to take meaningful concrete steps on reconciliation and accountability.
She has observed that the resolution is a "balanced and constructive" one that acknowledged the progress that has been made in certain areas while at the same time noting that "considerable work lies ahead in the area of justice, reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods."
"The expectation is that the government of Sri Lanka heard this message coming from a broad cross section," Sisson has said, adding that that the 40 plus countries that co-sponsored the resolution and those who voted in favor of it were looking at the constructive role of the office of the High Commission for Human Rights to continue to report on these issues.
