Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/untrip3may9srilanka060809.html
UNITED NATIONS, June 8 -- The outgoing chief justice of Sri Lanka, Sarath Nanda Silva, said before he left that those interred in the camps in Menik Farm have no legal protections, cannot get justice for their claims before the courts that he oversaw.
On June 8 in New York, Inner City Press asked UN Associate Spokesman Farhan Haq if this is the UN's understanding, given that the UN is largely paying for, and had just bragged about, the camps. Haq replied that the UN is pushing for freedom of movement, telling the government to speed up its "screening and registration."
The screening is, in essence, political screening, to gauge whether people support not only the LTTE but also the cause of Tamil rights. Since the UN is pay for this, it seems fair to ask what legal protections are in place.
Inner City Press asked again, in response to which Haq said, "I am not aware of the jurisdiction of the court system. I think that’s a national issue." Transcript here and below; video here, from Minute 16:38.
But if the UN pays to lock people up, the non-existence of safeguards cannot be considered only a national issue.
Inner City Press asked for the UN's response to the visas denied to international staff of CARE, Save the Children, NRC and others. Haq said, we continue to stress the need for humanitarian access. With whom? When NGOs were barred from Sudan, the UN Secretariat shouted. And now?
While some reported that Ban Ki-moon on June 5 called for an investigation, his actual words were far more wishy -washy: if there were violations, they should be investigated. This allows the Sri Lankan government to claim there were no violations, just as they insist against all evidence that not a single civilians was killed by their assault on the "No Fire" Zone.
Nevertheless, when Inner City Press asked Rosemary DiCarlo of the U.S. Mission what may happen next at the UN about Sri Lanka, she said that she and the U.S. expect Ban to continue to brief the Council, on compliance with the Joint Statement he signed with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
More skeptical observers opine that absent publicized event which shame the UN and Council into action, the agenda will continue to include Haiti and Burundi, and even Myanmar, but not Sri Lanka. We'll see.
From the June 8 UN transcript:
Inner City Press: on Sri Lanka, the Chief Justice there has been quoted as saying that the people that are in the camps, including the 280,000 people on the Menik Farm camps were outside of the protection of the law, that the Sri Lankan justice system has no jurisdiction over them or their claims. Is that the UN’s understanding, given that it’s paying in large part for the camps? And also, the NGOs -- CARE, Save the Children, NRC -- all have had international staff refused visas, and I wondered what OCHA is doing about that.
Associate Spokesperson Haq: Well, first of all, regarding the Chief Justice’s comments, the UN at the highest levels has been insisting on the need for freedom of movement for the people in these camps since the end of the conflict. Freedom of movement for people in the IDP camps is essential. The Government is trying to expedite the screening and registration of IDPs but this needs to be done faster. The Government must allow family reunification and the issuance of ID cards and facilitate freer movement in and out of the camps. The Government needs to facilitate early return and resettlement of IDPs, while ensuring the voluntary nature of such movements.
Inner City Press: [inaudible] does the court system have jurisdiction over their claims? Is that the UN’s understanding?
Associate Spokesperson Haq: I am not aware of the jurisdiction of the court system. I think that’s a national issue.
Again, if the UN pays to lock people up, the non-existence of safeguards should not be considered only a national issue.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/untrip3may9srilanka060809.html
