SRI LANKA: ASSESSING UNOHCHR FIELD PRESENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000989

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ASSESSING UNOHCHR FIELD PRESENCE

REF: STATE 73151


1. (U) Summary: Poloff met with United Nations Office of the
High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) Sri Lanka
representative Rory Mungoven on June 9 to discuss the
successes and constraints of the program and how the U.S.
could buttress OHCHR's mandate in Sri Lanka. Mungoven noted
moderately successful initiatives with the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and genuine, though disconnected, steps
by the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) to address human rights.
He hoped that the United States as a member of the Co-Chairs
could augment his role by continuing to support the UN's
human rights message in Sri Lanka, and allocating UN funds
specifically to OHCHR. End summary.

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Background
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2. (U) Following the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA),OHCHR
appointed Mungoven to assist the Government of Sri Lanka(GSL)
and the LTTE in human rights road mapping. These initiatives
included drafting a human rights declaration to complement
the CFA, strengthening the Human Rights Commission's regional
offices, and providing human rights training for the Sri
Lanka Army, Police, and the LTTE. By extension, Mungoven is
also a peace process advisor for the UN.

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Engaging with the Tigers
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3. (SBU) Between 2002 and November 2005, the UN completed 17
rounds of "moderately successful" human rights training with
the LTTE, according to Mungoven. Such training inspired the
LTTE to create the North East Secretariat on Human Rights, a
highly propagandistic organization but one which reflects an
actual capacity for human rights monitoring, Mungoven said.
The UN training also led the LTTE to write a human rights
charter, which they have published but not implemented. The
success of the initiative can be conceptualized as an
exercise for the LTTE which challenged them to think through
the breadth of human rights issues, such as disability and
age discrimination.


4. (SBU) According to Mungoven, the true impact of the
training cannot be evaluated, but it has provided a bridge by
which to deal with the LTTE on human rights issues. OHCHR's
space for interaction with the LTTE on human rights has
diminished since December 2005, when the LTTE increased
violent attacks against Sri Lankan forces and civilians in
the wake of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's election.

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Engaging the Government of Sri Lanka
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5. (SBU) Mungoven described "quality strides" with the GSL on
supporting the functioning of the independent Human Rights
Commission. A disconnect remains, however, between the
institutions and results. For instance, the GSL has recently
established a Ministry of Human Rights and Disaster
Management as an institutional counterpart to the UN's human
rights office, with few results thus far. In addition, the
HRC's reports go unpublished, and there is no prosecution for
crimes or the prosecution collapses under a questionably
independent judiciary. Opined Mungoven, "The laws, tools and
institutions for accountability are there, but there is a gap
in implementation."

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Limitations
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6. (SBU) Mungoven pointed to three obstacles to a more
substantial OHCHR presence in Sri Lanka. First, his position

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is not the equivalent of a UN Human Rights Mission and cannot
work with such breadth. Second, the GSL is resistant to a
full scale human rights mission, partially by pressure from
India, which wants to avoid a similar UN mission on Kashmir.
Third, a UN human rights role requires buy-in from the LTTE
in order to be effective: the LTTE take it or leave it as
suits them.

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U.S. Support
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7. (SBU) If the security and human rights situation in
country continues to deteriorate, remarked Mungoven, the UN
will need the Co-Chairs to be a more adamant influence
against GSL resistance to human rights measures and also help
strengthen the human rights capacity of the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission (SLMM). Lastly, the USG can earmark a
portion of its UN contributions toward OHCHR programs.

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Comment
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8. (SBU) Comment: We work very closely with Mungoven and
believe the OHCHR presence here is very useful. It will only
become more so if human rights problems continue to increase
as the "war and peace" situation continues to deteriorate.
End comment.
LUNSTEAD