MANEUVERING INTENSIFIES ON SRI LANKA IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 000055

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV UNHRC CE
SUBJECT: MANEUVERING INTENSIFIES ON SRI LANKA IN
GENEVA-BASED HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES

REF: 07 GENEVA 2110

Classified By: Political Counselor Michael Klecheski. Reasons: 1.4(b/d
).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Sri Lanka Government is continuing its
efforts to forestall action by Geneva-based UN bodies on its
human rights situation. Most recently, in a January 11
meeting with High Commissioner for Human Rights Arbour, Sri
Lanka's human rights minister reiterated the GoSL position
that the Office of the High Commissioner should work through
national human rights bodies rather than have an independent
monitoring role. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has continued to press
its public relations campaign in Geneva even as the EU begins
to consider either reintroducing a resolution condemning
Colombo's human rights policies or calling a special session
of the Council on the issue. END SUMMARY.

A MUCH-DISCUSSED TOPIC
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2. (U) Sri Lanka's deteriorating human rights situation has
been a subject of frequent attention in Geneva. After a
flurry of activity in the run-up to the Council's September
session (reftel),UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Louise Arbour visited the country in October in hopes of
gaining agreement to expand the presence on the ground of her
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
She came away empty-handed, and subsequent GoSL-OHCHR
negotiations made no progress. Arbour's report to the
Council's December session expressed disappointment with that
outcome while noting deep concern with human rights
developments in the country. Seeking to counter her
arguments, Sri Lanka deployed its Minister for Disaster
Management and Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, to Geneva
to explain the government's position on the margins of the
session. Samarasinghe and Sri Lanka's ambassador got an icy
reception from members of the Council's Western Group when
they argued that virtually no country with an OHCHR office
benefited from its activities.

SRI LANKA CONTINUES STONEWALLING ON OHCHR
--------------


3. (C) The negotiations on the OHCHR presence have continued.
As part of those negotiations, and perhaps in part to
explain Sri Lanka's position following the end of its
cease-fire, the GoSL again sent Samarasinghe to Geneva, where
he held a January 11 meeting with Arbour. OHCHR Asia
Department head Rory Mungoven told us the meeting produced
nothing new. Samarasinghe, while acknowledging the
shortcomings of his country's Human Rights Commission,
continued to encourage OHCHR work through national human
rights structures, arguing that this was the only acceptable
option from the GoSL's perspective. (Note: OHCHR's
International Coordination Committee demoted Sri Lanka's
national commission on December 11 from "A" to "B" status,
disqualifying it from speaking at Council sessions but,
contrary to reports in the Colombo press, not depriving Sri
Lanka of its vote in the Council.)


4. (C) Arbour similarly stuck with her position, insisting on
the need for an independent OHCHR role in monitoring human
rights in the country and rejecting any hybrid arrangements.
She also rejected Samarasinghe's appeals that their meeting
be publicized as an example of constructive dialogue between
Sri Lanka and the OHCHR. Indeed, Arbour made no public
statement about the meeting.


5. (C) According to Mungoven, Arbour would be satisfied with
a modest OHCHR presence on the ground, as long as it retained
its independence. OHCHR's arrangements in Nepal provided a
good model, though at least initially, an effort far smaller
in scope would be acceptable from Arbour's viewpoint.


6. (C) Mungoven said that Arbour saw time as on her side and
would remain firm. She would continue to highlight Sri
Lanka's deteriorating human rights situation (as she did in a
January 15 press release reminding both the GoSL and Tamil
Tigers of their international law obligations once the
cease-fire goes into effect). She also saw the Council's
March session as an opportunity for her and others to
spotlight the problem and exert additional pressure on
Colombo.

GROWING EU IMPATIENCE WITH SRI LANKA
--------------


7. (C) According to Belgium's Deputy PermRep, the EU is

beginning to think about firm action on Sri Lanka in the
Council. At the December session, the EU limited itself to
updating an earlier draft resolution on Sri Lanka that it had
never tabled. Looking ahead, our Belgian interlocutor told
us that many in the EU believe the prospects for passing a
resolution are weak but that a Council special session (which
requires support from only one-third of member states to be
convened) appears a more promising avenue to pursue. The
success of the Council's special session on Burma in October
had helped shape EU thinking on addressing Sri Lanka's human
rights problems. Our interlocutor added in a January 18
conversation, however, that a Sri Lanka session would not
take place in the next few weeks, particularly given the
likelihood that the Council will hold a special session on
Israel within that timeframe at the initiative of the OIC.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) Although EU delegations in Geneva are demonstrating
growing impatience with Sri Lanka's stance toward the OHCHR,
it is unclear if the EU will move to hold a special session
or press for a resolution on the subject. Meanwhile, the
GoSL is certain to continue pressing its case in Geneva, as
it has been doing aggressively to date.
TICHENOR