Problems, best addressed by Govt and people, says Russian envoy:

Restoring law in earlier LTTE-held areas commended

By Manjula FERNANDO

Visiting Russian Commissioner for Human rights, Democracy and Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov said there was not a single country without problems in the field of human rights (HR).

He was on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka.Commending the efforts taken by the Sri Lankan Government to bring back the rule of law to areas that were under the terrorist grip for nearly three decades, the Russian Envoy said the magnitude of problems facing Sri Lanka is not shocking at all and certainly did not permit or warrant a specific resolution from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).“These are problems and efforts, and it is entirely up to the Government and the people of the country to address them,” he said.

In a brief media interaction at the end of his stay, he said the specific task of his visit was to get as much information as possible about the present situation in Sri Lanka in the field of HR, democracy and rule of law and to discuss ways of fulfillingRussia’s contributions in this field in the international arena including at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Draft resolution

The Russian Federation and some other members of the Council opposed the draft resolution which was sponsored by the US in March this year which criticised the Sri LankanGovernment for lack of action in the area of HR.

Dolgov’s visit was undertaken under the instructions of the Russian government.

It was a result of discussions Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris had in Moscow in May this year to enhance friendly dialogues between the two countries in the area of HR, democracy and rule of law.

During his stay, the High Commissioner met the External Affairs Minister, officials of the External Affairs Ministry (MEA), Secretary of Defence, Justice Minister and Opposition Leader among others.

He also travelled to the Boosa rehabilitation centre for ex-LTTE cadre. “I had the opportunity to see with my own eyes how the rehabilitation process is going on. It is going on in accordance with international standards,” he said.

“The main conclusions I drew from all those discussions and field trips is that on the whole, the situation in the field of HR and democracy has progressed since the end of counter-terrorist operations which were successfully concluded“.

Promoting reconciliation

He observed that there had been serious efforts in promoting reconciliation, successful efforts to return displaced persons with almost all of them returning, which is a big achievement on the part of the State.

There has been progress on the field of rehabilitation, reintegration of ex-combatants and re-establishing of local governments in areas liberated from terrorist fighters in addition to the progress in implementing the LLRC recommendations.

“The Attorney-General and Justice Minister briefed me on the specific cases of possible HR violations that may have taken place during the counter-terrorism operations which are being investigated now.”

Also referring to the investigations by the Army and the Navy, he said he took note of the firm intention of the Government to pursue the issue of accountability with full respect for human rights.

He said Russia viewed the sovereignty and political independence of Sri Lanka and any other state as extremely important.

He said there were some outstanding issues in the field of lands and local policing, but was happy to see objective efforts being undertaken to overcome those issues, emphasising that his trip was not intended to supply any ‘imported solutions’ for issues in Sri Lanka. He said being an agricultural country, land issues must be of importance to the people. He said against this backdrop, efforts to mount pressure on theGovernment and people of Sri Lanka by some countries were unacceptable. “We don’t support those efforts”. Adding that these efforts will serve ‘very specific interests’, which are of a ‘political nature’, of ‘very specific countries’, he said they will not contribute to the promotion of human rights here or anywhere else.

Int’l collaboration

The Russian envoy underscored that more fruitful international collaboration at the Human Rights Council as well as at the higher UN General Assembly, to promote implementation of HR without double standards, politicisation, selectivity in the approaches and assessment, is the need of the hour. ”We are against selectivity”, he stressed.

He said it was gratifying to hear from the External Affairs Minister that Sri Lanka shared this sentiment and the two countries had very good prospects for interaction in the international fora on the basis of shared principles.

When asked by the Sunday Observer what Russia’s stance would be if a negative resolution is once again mooted against Sri Lanka in March next year, he said that Russia will not be in the Council next year due to the organisational structure, but they will not hesitate to reiterate their political position which is against any political resolution on Sri Lanka.

After several consecutive terms, Russia is running for re-election next year. “The UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navaneetham Pillai is poised to visit Sri Lanka.

"I am sure the government will extensively inform her of the situation in the field and the achievements that had taken place including prospective efforts to address the remaining issues”.

He expressed the hope that she will draw objective conclusions at the end of her visit and the subsequent report will be an impartial one.

Dolgov said he did not intend to pressure the outcome of the visit, but they expected a high standard of independence and impartiality in all affairs of the HRC.

He said if things develop in this direction, there will be no attempt to push a political resolution because nothing compels anyone in the Council to draw up another draft resolution on Sri Lanka.

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[Konstantin Dolgov]

Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner Konstantin Dolgov is also the Ambassador at Large of the Russian Federation representing Russia's views on human rights situations in other countries which includes bringing to light HR violations in Western countries.

He wasthe Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York during 2004 - 2011 where Russia backed Sri Lanka to win the special resolution moved by the Western bloc in May 2009.

During the last stages of the humanitarian operations, he represented the Russian position at the UN Security Council against any form of interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. Russia and Sri Lanka celebrated the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in February this year.

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