By IANS,
Perth : The decision to go ahead with the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in 2013 is “contrary to the association’s fundamental values of human rights and democracy” and could make it irrelevant, a rights group said Sunday.
“This decision runs contrary to the association’s fundamental values of human rights and democracy, and has pushed the Commonwealth to the lowest point in its history,” the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) said in a release.
“A Commonwealth position that legitimises the human rights situation in Sri Lanka may in the very near future delegitimise the Commonwealth fatally and forever,” it said.
Recalling that in 2009, the CHOGM deferred Sri Lanka’s proposal to host CHOGM 2011 for two years, the CHRI said nothing much had changed since then.
“Instead, human rights concerns have increased significantly and the Sri Lankan regime’s response has been denial and defiance rather than genuine efforts at accountability and recompense,” it said, adding that an expert panel appointed by the UN secretary general in June 2009 called for independent international investigations of allegations of humanitarian law violations and war crimes.
“The Commonwealth, however, has chosen to turn a blind eye to the widely publicised allegations. The few Commonwealth member states that have expressed some concern have been resolutely opposed by strong voices that prefer to paper over the serious situation,” the CHRI said.
It said by allowing Sri Lanka to go on to host CHOGM 2013, and subsequently become chair of the association, the Commonwealth has “openly proclaimed that it is no longer capable of landmark human rights stances, as demonstrated by its historic activism against Apartheid”.
“Without a strong commitment to human rights, the Commonwealth cannot be of any relevance to its two billion people,” the CHRI said.
The Commonwealth’s stance on Sri Lanka in the run up to CHOGM 2013 will “indicate whether there is any chance that the organisation can salvage itself from this substantial tear in its moral fabric,” it added.