{"id":6,"date":"2009-10-22T07:43:05","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T22:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.hrn.or.jp\/?p=6"},"modified":"2023-10-25T09:47:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T00:47:59","slug":"sr-lanka-foreign-minister-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/news\/2009\/10\/22\/sr-lanka-foreign-minister-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Situations in Sri Lanka: Open letter to Foreign Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

Katsuya Okada
\nForeign Minister
\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs
\nKasumigaseki 2-2-1
\nChiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8919 <\/span><\/p>\n

Re: Sri Lanka<\/p>\n

Dear Foreign Minister,<\/p>\n

We write to you on the occasion of your inauguration as foreign
\nminister of Japan to encourage you to make the promotion and protection
\nof human rights a central priority in Japan’s relations with Sri Lanka.
\nIn particular, there is an urgent need to address the plight of
\napproximately 250,000 displaced civilians detained in camps by the Sri
\nLankan government, and establish an independent international
\ninvestigation into serious violations of international humanitarian law
\nduring the recent conflict.<\/p>\n

Japan has long been a good friend of Sri Lanka. It has demonstrated its
\nconcern about the economic advancement and well-being of Sri Lanka’s
\ncitizens by acting as co-chair of the peace process and by being the
\nlargest donor to Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

The end of the quarter-century long armed conflict with the separatist
\nLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) creates new opportunities for
\nSri Lanka to ensure a rights-respecting society. But since the defeat
\nof the LTTE in May, the Sri Lankan government has made little effort to
\nimprove the human rights situation or to reach out to the minority
\nTamil population, undermining efforts by Japan and the international
\ncommunity to facilitate development and reconciliation, which are
\nnecessary for a future peaceful Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

The government has illegally confined approximately a quarter of a
\nmillion vulnerable Tamil civilians in overcrowded, sewage-infested
\ncamps, with the government denying them their right to freedom of
\nmovement and allowing no independent protection mechanisms. With the
\nmonsoon season fast approaching, the health and welfare of these
\ncivilians is increasingly at risk. In addition, five months after what
\nthe head of the United Nation’s humanitarian agency described as a
\n“bloodbath” in northern Sri Lanka, there has been no government
\ninvestigation or accountability for the widespread violations of
\ninternational humanitarian law committed by government forces and the
\nLTTE.<\/p>\n

Japan’s generous aid to Sri Lanka not only improves the lives of its
\nbeneficiaries, it also provides Japan with unique opportunities to draw
\nthe Sri Lankan government’s attention to mistaken and counterproductive
\npolicies. Sri Lanka listens to Japan. To date, however, while other
\nmajor donors and friends of Sri Lanka have expressed their concerns in
\npublic, Japan has not spoken out against the illegal detention of a
\nquarter of a million civilians, nor has Japan called for accountability
\nfor serious violations of international humanitarian law by the
\ngovernment and the LTTE.<\/p>\n

It is the time for Japan’s new administration to break the silence and
\nto make use of its unique relationship with Sri Lanka to uphold the
\nbasic rights of all Sri Lankans.<\/p>\n

We urge Japan to take strong action so that the Sri Lankan government
\nwill end the illegal detention of civilians. We also call upon Japan to
\ninsist on justice and accountability for serious violations of
\ninternational humanitarian law by both sides and to press for the
\nspeedy establishment of an independent international investigation.<\/p>\n

Situation in the Detention Camps<\/p>\n

Several hundred thousand civilians were displaced by the armed conflict
\nin northern Sri Lanka. Since March 2008, the government confined
\nvirtually all newly displaced persons who fled the LTTE in
\ngovernment-run camps. While the government euphemistically refers to
\nthese camps as “welfare villages,” they are effectively
\nmilitary-controlled detention centers for civilians.<\/p>\n

In violation of international law, the government has denied those
\ndetained in these camps their rights to liberty and freedom of
\nmovement. Camp residents are allowed to leave the camps only for
\nemergency medical care, and then frequently only with military escort.
\nAlthough the majority of detainees have relatives who are able to
\nprovide them with care and housing, to date, only several thousand camp
\nresidents have been allowed to leave.<\/p>\n

Because of lack of adequate access for humanitarian agencies and
\novercrowding caused by the government’s refusal to release people from
\nthe camps, conditions in the camps currently fall short of UN
\nstandards. Conditions will continue to deteriorate with the onset of
\nthe monsoon season, causing additional hardship and suffering for the
\ncamp residents. Heavy rains in mid-August caused serious flooding and
\nindicated the problems to come, as water destroyed tents and other
\nshelter, made cooking impossible, and caused roads to collapse,
\npreventing delivery of crucial aid such as drinking water. Water also
\nflooded latrine pits, causing raw sewage to flow among the tents. Aid
\nagencies are particularly concerned about the threat of disease due to
\nflooding.<\/p>\n

Camp residents are increasingly frustrated with their lack of freedom
\nof movement, leading to confrontations between the military
\nadministration and the residents. On September 26, 2009, Sri Lankan
\nsecurity forces opened fire on a group of camp residents who reportedly
\nattempted to move between two zones of the Menik Farm camp. Several
\ncivilians, including a child, were wounded.<\/p>\n

In May, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, joined by UN
\nSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon, assured the international community that
\nthese camps would be dismantled at the earliest possible time. Nearly
\nfive months later, none of this has happened.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Sri Lankan government has deliberately prevented outside
\nscrutiny of the camps, leaving camp residents vulnerable to abuse. It
\nhas denied access to aid organizations to independently assess medical
\nneeds. Reports that camp residents still do not know the whereabouts of
\nrelatives detained at checkpoints during their flight from the fighting
\nor from the camps weeks and months after they were separated give great
\ncause for concern. The government has prohibited staff members of
\nhumanitarian organizations working in the camps from talking with camp
\nresidents, preventing effective monitoring and protection. We have
\nreceived reports of enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and
\nill-treatment, but these reports cannot be corroborated because the
\ncamps are closed to human rights organizations, journalists, and other
\nindependent observers.<\/p>\n

We urge the new Japanese administration to:<\/p>\n

Call upon the Sri Lankan government to end the arbitrary detention of
\ncivilians and permit those who wish to leave the detention camps to do
\nso immediately. Charge suspected LTTE combatants in accordance with
\ninternational standards and ensure that family members and humanitarian
\nagencies have access to them;<\/p>\n

Publicly refer to the camps as “detention camps” to make clear their
\ntrue character, and use every opportunity to express Japan’s profound
\ndismay at the deprivation of the fundamental right to liberty and
\nabsence of freedom of movement of the civilians there;<\/p>\n

Draw attention to the fact that poor camp conditions are in part a
\nresult of the government’s policy to detain the displaced rather than
\nallow them freedom of movement;<\/p>\n

Insist that the Sri Lankan government facilitate safe, unimpeded and
\ntimely access to humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations
\nto camp residents and undertake protection and monitoring activities;
\nand,<\/p>\n

Call upon the Sri Lankan government to implement a system for tracing
\nmissing relatives or allow an international humanitarian organization
\nto undertake such work.<\/p>\n

Concerning return and resettlement, urge the Sri Lankan government to:<\/p>\n

Respect and follow the UN Guiding Principles on Internal
\nDisplacement and abide by these principles in the return and
\nresettlement process, including by ensuring the full inclusion and
\ninput of displaced persons in the planning and management of their
\nreturn, resettlement and reintegration;
\nProperly inform displaced persons of their right to voluntarily return
\nto their homes, places of origin, or to relocate to another area of the
\ncountry if they so choose, in safety and with dignity; and,
\nGuarantee the right of displaced persons to make informed and voluntary decisions regarding their return home or resettlement.<\/p>\n

Justice and Accountability<\/p>\n

The armed conflict in Sri Lanka that ended with the defeat of the LTTE
\nin May 2009 was characterized by serious violations of international
\nhumanitarian law by both sides. Despite repeated denials, government
\nforces frequently shelled densely populated areas, including at least
\n30 attacks on or near hospitals in the government-declared “no-fire
\nzone” – an area where it had urged civilians to take shelter. The LTTE
\nviolated the laws of war by using civilians as human shields, using
\nlethal force to prevent their fleeing from the combat zone, and
\ndeploying their forces in and near densely populated areas, exposing
\ncivilians to unnecessary risk. However, because independent observers,
\nincluding the media and human rights organizations, were prevented from
\noperating near the war zone, the information available on the fighting,
\nand possible laws of war violations by both sides, is limited.<\/p>\n

A joint statement by Secretary-General Ban and President Rajapaksa on
\nMay 23, 2009, underlined the importance of an accountability process
\nfor addressing violations of international humanitarian and human
\nrights law. The statement said that “[t]he Government will take
\nmeasures to address those grievances.”<\/p>\n

This has not happened. Five months after the end of the war, the
\ngovernment has made no attempts to investigate violations of
\ninternational law. On the contrary, in several statements, the Sri
\nLankan government has dismissed the need for such an investigation,
\ncontradicting the promises it made in its joint statement.<\/p>\n

In a July 14 interview with Time magazine, President Rajapakse,
\nspeaking about the war, said that “There was no violation of human
\nrights. There were no civilian casualties.” Even with respect to a
\ntruth and reconciliation commission, Rajapaksa said that he did not
\nwant to “dig into the past and open up this wound.”<\/p>\n

The attitude of the Sri Lankan government towards accountability is
\nalso evident in its official reaction to a recently broadcast video
\nthat shows what appears to be Sri Lankan army soldiers summarily
\nexecuting prisoners. The Sri Lankan government, however, dismissed the
\nvideo out of hand, labeling it a fabrication and a “concocted story.”
\nIn September, the government told the Human Rights Council that four
\nhand-picked local investigators, two of whom were government officials,
\nhad concluded the video was “fake,” but failed to provide detailed
\ninvestigation reports to support such a finding. Philip Alston, the UN
\nSpecial Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions,
\nhas called for an investigation of this video.<\/p>\n

The Sri Lankan government has a poor record of investigating serious
\nhuman rights abuses and impunity has been a persistent problem. Despite
\na backlog of cases of enforced disappearance and unlawful killings
\ngoing back two decades that run to the tens of thousands, there have
\nbeen only a small number of prosecutions. Past efforts to address
\nviolations through the establishment of ad hoc mechanisms in Sri Lanka,
\nsuch as presidential commissions of inquiry, have produced few results,
\neither in providing information or leading to prosecutions.<\/p>\n

The most recent commission, investigating 16 major human rights cases
\nincluding the August 2006 killing of 17 Sri Lankan aid workers with the
\nParis-based humanitarian agency Action Contre La Faim (ACF), highlights
\nthis failure. After having investigated just a few of their mandated
\ncases, the commission concluded this year, finding no evidence of
\ngovernment wrongdoing, including in the ACF case. A group of respected
\ninternational experts tasked with monitoring the commission withdrew
\nfrom its role because it had “not been able to conclude … that the
\nproceedings of the Commission have been transparent or have satisfied
\nbasic international norms and standards.” The commission’s full report
\nto President Rajapaksa remains unpublished.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka’s past record, recent statements, and the government’s lack
\nof action since the end of the conflict make it clear that the
\ngovernment has no intention of impartially investigating violations
\ncommitted during the war.<\/p>\n

We urge the new Japanese administration to:<\/p>\n

Publicly denounce the clear unwillingness of the Sri Lankan government
\nto impartially investigate credible allegations of serious violations
\nof international human rights and humanitarian law and bring to justice
\nthose responsible;<\/p>\n

Support the call of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary
\nor arbitrary executions and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights
\nfor an independent investigation into alleged abuses;<\/p>\n

Unequivocally press for the establishment of an independent
\ninternational investigation into abuses committed by both government
\nforces and the LTTE in the final months of fighting; and,<\/p>\n

Call on the UN secretary-general, who had joined with President
\nRajapaksa in promising an inquiry into abuses, to promptly establish
\nsuch a UN-sanctioned investigation, and to take all necessary steps to
\nfacilitate its creation and execute its mandate.<\/p>\n

The fighting in Sri Lanka may be over, but for approximately a quarter
\nof a million people, the suffering continues. There will be no reprieve
\nand there will be no accountability unless Japan and others within the
\ninternational community persistently demand it.<\/p>\n

We thank you for your attention to these urgent matters and would
\nwelcome the opportunity to meet with you for further discussion.<\/p>\n

Sincerely yours,<\/p>\n

Mina Watanabe Secretary General, Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace\u3000(wam)<\/p>\n

Makoto Teranaka Secretary General, Amnesty International Japan<\/p>\n

Kinhide Mushakoji President, IMADR-JC
\nYuriko Hara Secretary-General, IMADR<\/p>\n

Brad Adams Asia Director, Human Rights Watch
\nKanae Doi Tokyo Director, Human Rights Watch<\/p>\n

Kazuko Ito Secretary General, Human Rights Now<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katsuya Okada Foreign Minister Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kasumigaseki 2-2-1 Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8919 Re: Sri Lanka Dear Foreign Minister, We write to you on the occasion of your inauguration as foreign minister of Japan to encourage you to make the promotion and protection of human rights a central priority in Japan’s relations with Sri Lanka. In particular, there is an urgent need to address the plight of approximately 250,000 displaced civilians detained in camps by the Sri Lankan government, and establish an independent international investigation into serious violations of international humanitarian law during the recent conflict. Japan has long been a good friend of Sri Lanka. It has demonstrated its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[157,15,17,16,9],"countries":[248,240],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-statement","tag-accountability-for-gross-human-rights-violations","tag-extrajudicial-killings-war-crime-and-crimes-against-humanity","tag-human-rights-violation-under-armed-conflictsmilitary-operation","tag-international-transitional-justice","tag-publications","countries-japan","countries-sri-lanka"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1093,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions\/1093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/countries?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}