GSL generally receptive to concerns raised by

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001969

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/12
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV CE UNHRC
SUBJECT: GSL generally receptive to concerns raised by
visiting DRL P/DAS Parmly re upcoming UNHRC session


(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b, d).


1. (C) Summary: During an October 10 visit to Sri
Lanka, DRL P/DAS Michael Parmly raised USG concerns
regarding the upcoming session of the United Nations
Human Rights Commission with Foreign Secretary Nihal
Rodrigo. Rodrigo was generally receptive to the points
raised. In a meeting with Attorney General K.C.
Kamalasabayson, Parmly expressed his admiration for the
steps the GSL has taken in the last year to improve its
human rights record. Queried by P/DAS Parmly,
Kamalasabayson reviewed his office's efforts to counter
the appearance of impunity by prosecuting GSL officials
for alleged human rights violations. End Summary.

UNHRC: Libya as chair
=====================


2. (C) During an October 10 visit to Sri Lanka, DRL
P/DAS Michael Parmly met with Foreign Secretary Nihal
Rodrigo and discussed the USG's concerns over Libya
becoming the next chair of the UN Human rights
Commission (UNHRC) and the expected resolutions on Cuba.
Parmly stated that the USG was enthused about working
with the UNHRC again, but that the enthusiasm was
quickly dampened due to the likelihood of Libya chairing
the commission. Having Libya chair the UNHRC, Parmly
commented, would send the wrong message to the world
about the role of the UNHRC. Rodrigo agreed and blamed
the current system of regional groupings for allowing
this situation to happen. Rodrigo said he believed that
the Asia group must split, as well as the African group,
while the multiple European groups must combine.


3. (C) Parmly raised the possibility of publicly voting
on whether or not Libya should be the chair as a way of
emphasizing that there is no unanimous support for
Libya. Rodrigo responded that pushing for a vote would
likely polarize the commission and prevent substantive
work from being done. He suggested considering
something less then a vote, such as making "statements."
He argued that such statements would stay on record for
the chair to refer to. Parmly concurred that using
statements was a possibility, but for that option to be
effective they would have to come from non-western
countries. Rodrigo stated that the GSL might be able to
assist in this area. He would have to defer the final
decision to the Foreign Minister, however.

UNHRC: Cuba resolutions
========================


4. (C) Parmly and Rodrigo also discussed the expected
resolutions on Cuba. Parmly highlighted that when the
USG criticized the Cuban government for its human rights
violations, Castro seemed to thrive on the Cuba-vs.-USA
aspect of the criticism and then would just ignore the
core issues of the violations themselves. Criticisms of
the Castro regime are thus more biting when other
nations bring the complaints forward, such as when the
Latin American countries did so last year. Rodrigo was
generally non-committal as to how the GSL would vote on
this year's expected resolution on Cuba, but intimated
that it may abstain.

Sri Lankan human rights issues
==============================


5. (C) Continuing the U.S. human rights dialogue with
Sri Lanka, Parmly opened discussions with Attorney
General K.C. Kamalasabayson by expressing admiration for
the positive work Sri Lanka has done in the past year in
respect to human rights cases. He noted that during a
January visit to Sri Lanka he had stressed to the GSL's
Interministerial Working Group on Human Rights that the
appearance of impunity of GSL officials alleged to have
been involved in human rights violations was an issue of
primary concern. During the course of this year,
however, the GSL appears to be tackling the issue in
solid ways.


6. (C) In his response, Kamalasabayson stated that at
the beginning of the year impunity was an issue of great
concern for his office, but that he had taken a number
of steps to counteract the history of impunity. One of
the most drastic changes involved the fact that
historically the police investigated incidents and then
handed all information over to the Attorney General's
Office for prosecution. There was no interaction
between the two branches of law. Kamalasabayson argued
that the constitution gave him the power to direct
investigations when needed and he was doing so. In high
profile cases or those with political aspects, State
Counsels become involved with investigations early on.
Other changes include the following:

-- Local police no longer investigate themselves. The
Criminal Investigation Division is brought in to do
this;
-- The government is providing increased support to the
AG's office;
-- The AG's office is talking directly with NGOs and is
making a point of keeping them informed (which in turn
prevents some cases from lying dormant).


7. (C) An indication of the effectiveness of some of the
changes is that the Supreme Court has recently found
security force personnel guilty of human rights
violations. In addition, the Supreme Court has found in
favor of victims in fundamental rights cases which
obligates the perpetrator to pay a fine to the victim.
Unlike the past, the criminal cases are also continuing
despite the fundamental rights cases having been
concluded.


8. (U) P/DAS Michael Parmly did not have the opportunity
to review this cable before departing post.

Wills