By Nasria Naffin

On Thursday, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed the latest resolution promoting reconciliation in Sri Lanka by a vote of 20 to 7, with many countries close to the island nation’s ruling elite voting against the island nation’s wish.
The new resolution has also emphasized the effect of the economic crisis on human rights.
Twenty nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Japan, and Qatar, abstained from voting on a resolution requiring the island nation to investigate past human rights violations.
As several key conventions in trade concessions, such as Europe’s GSP Plus, are directly tied to human rights, the new resolution is the toughest Sri Lanka has faced till date, and is likely to reduce Sri Lanka’s ability to engage in international trade.
The European Union has already threatened to revoke the country’s trade concessions because it has failed to fulfill its commitments to implement a number of important international conventions.
The proposed resolution, which was sponsored by Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, North Macedonia, Malawi, and Montenegro, is titled “Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka.”
It is the seventh UNHRC resolution against Sri Lanka’s human rights record since 2009, when a 26-year civil war ended. Sri Lanka only prevailed against the resolution in 2009, as there was no vote in 2015 because Sri Lanka chose to comply with the UNHRC resolution.
Sri Lanka is seeking the support of all foreign nations to find a way out of its unprecedented economic crisis, which has led to a political crisis and the removal of its former prime minister and president for economic mismanagement.
Corruption and the Economic Crisis
The draft also emphasizes the significance of addressing governance factors and root causes that have contributed to Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic crisis. It also acknowledges that the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as the prevention and fight against corruption, mutually reinforce one another.
In a report, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended reducing military spending significantly, combating corruption resolutely, increasing investments in health, social security, and education through international cooperation, and assessing the potential impact of international financial assistance programs on human rights and taking preventative measures to reduce it to a minimum.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative for the United Kingdom Mission to the WTO, UN, and Other International Organizations (Geneva), Simon Manley, stated that the resolution text is largely based on last year’s resolution, but has been updated to reflect some of the key developments over the past 18 months, such as an economic crisis, mass protests, and a change in government, all of which have had a significant impact on the human rights situation in the country.
He also said, “It reflects some of the more recent concerns outlined in the High Commissioner’s report, especially the human rights impact of the economic crisis,”
“This capacity was set up in response to the lack of progress made by Sri Lanka’s domestic legal mechanisms towards accountability for past alleged gross violations of human rights.”
The resolution’s primary requests seek to continue the work begun in last year’s resolution, which established the Office of the High Commissioner’s capacity to collect, consolidate, analyze, and preserve information to support judicial and other proceedings.
The new draft requests additional reporting from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UHCHR) and proposes extending the reporting period from 18 months to 2 years in an effort to provide sufficient time in light of the economic crisis.
International surveillance
Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, said, “The adoption of the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution reflects the need for continuing international scrutiny on Sri Lanka,”
“The Government of Sri Lanka should abide by the commitments it has made to the international community and ensure the effective operation of redressal bodies for human rights violations, such as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the Office on Missing Persons, the Office on Reparations, and the National Authority for the protection of Victims of a Crime and Witnesses, among others.”
Human Rights Watch’s director for South Asia, Meenakshi Ganguly, stated that the Sri Lankan government must now act to uphold the economic, social, and political rights demanded by thousands through peaceful protests, end repression against protesters, and ensure accountability for abuses, including war crimes.
The Sri Lankan government has taken a few baby steps towards protecting human rights and addressing past violations. As successive Sri Lankan governments failed to hold anyone accountable for past violations, this drew severe criticism from the West and rights groups.
Ali Sabry, the foreign minister of Sri Lanka, has stated that the country will not support any external evidence-gathering mechanism because it violates the country’s constitution. Additionally, he has criticized the inclusion of the economic crisis in the most recent draft, arguing that the UNHRC lacks the authority to investigate economic crimes.
Sri Lanka is in the process of obtaining a $2.9 billion IMF loan, and some government officials are concerned about the most recent resolution, which includes economic crimes and corruption.
Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told the reporters at the monetary policy rates briefing in Colombo “We have not been informed by the IMF if there could be an impact on the loan due to the UNHRC resolution,”