by ‘Colombo Gazette,’ February 8, 2018
A United Nations (UN) committee has urged Sri Lanka to ensure that all schools currently run by the military are transferred back under the Ministry of Education.
The recommendation was made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its findings on Sri Lanka released today.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child examined Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Panama, Seychelles, Spain, Solomon Islands, Palau and Marshall Islands during its latest session from 15 January to 2 February in Geneva.
The findings cover how the respective State is doing with regard to children’s rights, detailing positive developments, main areas of concern, and recommendations for action.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is composed of 18 international independent experts, who monitor implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified to date by 196 States.
They also monitor implementation of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC) and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC), ratified by 174 States and 167 States respectively.
In its recommendations for Sri Lanka, the Committee urged the State party (Sri Lanka) to implement its commitments under the Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 in an effective and timely manner, while ensuring that children, and those who were children at the time, be given a voice in national reconciliation and transitional justice processes and be supported as victims, witnesses or claimants.
In particular, the Committee urged the State party to strengthen its efforts to operationalize a fully independent Office of Missing Persons with a special attention to addressing cases of individuals who were children at the time of conflict and are still missing and ensure that all persons responsible for recruitment and use of children in the course of the armed conflict are brought to justice.
The Committee also recalled its previous recommendations and urged the State party to consider formalizing its commitment not to prosecute children or persons who were children involved in armed conflict, provide psychological support to former child combatants to address the trauma and other mental health issues, and children who have been internally displaced and/or deprived of a family environment owing to violence and/or enforced disappearance, ensure that all schools currently run by the military are transferred back under the Ministry of Education, ensure that training of the Cadet Corps does not include military activities and consider acceding to the additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Full report CRC_C_LKA_CO_5-6_30178_E
An interesting article that UN officials have identified military interference in many civil administration and the new regime that was voted as Regime change failed to take any meaningful steps or action to end military interference, bullying, intimidating, threatening public. Military must be moved out from residential areas.
Despite Sinhala state oppression going on for over seven decades, International community and Western nations continued to fail to deliver Justice by ending Sinhala state oppression against Tamils. Last week UK’s prestigious “The Guardian” newspaper published “Ambalavaner Sivanandan’s obituary” with fascinating details of his experience in race relations, Sri Lanka Sinhala racial violence in 1958 that forced him to flee to UK. Late Sivanandan was a great poet, bank manager, librarian, director of race relations for 40 years, strong advocate of equality, human rights and a victim of Sinhala Buddhist racist state oppression.
Tamils have been subject to oppression since the British colonial rulers left the shores as they failed to separate Eelam, a Tamil homeland that existed prior to Colonialism. Colonialism and Imperialism have created so much human sufferings, loss of lives, pain and destruction. It is sad that western nations support oppressive regimes based on their agenda and relationship rather on criminal or inhuman activities. Although successive Sri Lankan regimes have committed crimes against humanity since colonial rule ended and got away from accountability as Sinhala leaders know how to corrupt leaders. Almost 100 million Tamils in this planet living in many nations peacefully and contribution to the growth of many nations. Eelam Tamils are considered architects in building Singapore with Chinese. Colonialism has deprived Tamils as they lost their sovereignty, nation as colonial rulers failed to separate Eelam and Tamil Nadu. History of Tamils is rich and in still recognized as one of the finest cultures and values in South East Asia.Tamil youth took up arms with the help of Indra Gandhi former Prime Minister of India in order to mitigate state terrorism in the 1980s although state terrorism and racial violence started three decades ago. Corrupt, oppressive and Apartheid leaders collaborated to the Sri Lankan regime that committed human rights abuses, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Almost nine years passed after alleged genocide committed by Sri Lankan forces with the help of foreign forces, International community still not taken any strong action to investigate war crimes, alleged genocide, forced disappearances and delivery of justice. Most importantly, International must put an end to continued state oppression, armed forces illegal occupation of civilian areas, intimidating and bullying civilians, employing and deploying alleged war criminals as diplomats and apply impunity to war criminals. Sri Lankan forces committed sexual and human rights abuses while on UN duties abroad as they have accustomed to such inhuman activities with impunity at home.UN, UNHRC, International community have become meaningless if they fail to act and take action against rogue regimes and these institutions must employ strong leaders to be successful in their missions.
Further, failure to take strong action against rogue and oppressive regimes, apply double standard policies will divide the world and create more hostile environment than peaceful. Sri Lanka must be referred to UN Security council without further delay and an all out investigation of war crimes, human rights abuses and genocide should be conducted while UN forces on the ground to put an end to Sinhala Buddhist madness, state oppression, bullying, intimidation, sexual abuses and war crimes once and for all!