Malaysia should support the resolution on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council as an endorsement of accountability for wartime abuses and justice for victims, Human Rights Watch said.
On March 22, 2012, member states of the Human Rights Council in Geneva are expected to vote on a resolution calling for Sri Lanka to urgently present a plan of concrete steps to address accountability for violations of international law by all sides during its 26-year armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The resolution also asks the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to assist and report on this process.
“Malaysia should stand up and be counted among those demanding accountability for wartime abuses in Sri Lanka,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Sri Lanka should not be given yet another pass based on vague promises of future action.”
By voting for the resolution and accountability, Malaysia will signal its commitment to uphold the principles it signed on to when it stood for election to the UN Human Rights Council and demonstrate its responsibility for advancing those principles among other member states, Human Rights Watch said.
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