Twelve members of the U.S. Congress have urged Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to ensure the United States holds Sri Lanka accountable under the Convention against Torture.
Their letter speaks about the brutal torture endured by the Tamils at the hands of the military and other government agencies in Sri Lanka.
Led by Democratic Congresswoman Summer, they have called upon the US government to “formally hold Sri Lanka responsible for its human rights abuses and violations of International humanitarian law carried out against the Tamil people”.
In a joint letter, they demand the State Department to hold Sri Lanka legally accountable to the UN convention on Torture.
“In our view, the impunity enjoyed by Sri Lankan perpetrators, which has also enabled Sri Lanka’s economic and political crises, is counter to America’s commitment to upholding human rights and democratic principles and must be stopped.”
The dozen signatories allege the government and the military of Sri Lanka have committed serious international crimes.
“The Sri Lankan government and military are credibly accused of committing international crimes during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict with the LTTE. Of particular concern are Sri Lanka’s action from January through May 2009, when the Sri Lankan Military intentionally shelled Tamil civilians and civilian objects, including hospitals, in so-called "No Fire Zones”.
In their letter, they also pointed out the sexual abuses carried out by the military against the Tamil population during the war. “The Sri Lankan government and military raped and sexually mutilated hundreds of Tamil women and girls before or after killing them.”
Speaking about the lack of accountability, they say Sri Lanka is harbouring a culture of rewarding people who have committed grave human rights violations. “Instead of investigating and prosecuting allegations independently, the Sri Lankan government has rewarded many alleged war criminals with high-ranking political or military leadership positions, which some still hold today”.
Holding successive Sri Lankan governments responsible for not making tangible progress towards justice and accountability, they have urged the State Department to follow Article 30 of the Convention against Torture. This is to ensure and hold Sri Lanka formally responsible for breaching its treaty obligations.
They have also suggested a three-pronged strategy to ensure accountability and to end the culture of impunity, and save the Tamil victims.
Suggesting to achieve this through formal negotiations firstly, and if those negotiations fail through futility or deadlock, the next step shall be through arbitration.
In the event of the dispute not being resolved within six months, the US lawmakers have said, their government should bring a claim against Sri Lanka to the International Court of Justice.
Both the US and SL governments are not state parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), which founded the International Criminal Court (ICC).
