Diaspora Tamils protest outside UNHRC

Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 | 0 comments | Leave a comment...

1Hundreds of Tamils staged a protest outside the UN office in Geneva yesterday (Monday) where the UN Human Rights Council is currently meeting, the Tamil Guardian website reported.
The website said that Tamils came from across Europe to take part in the mass demonstration and rally demanding justice for the alleged genocide in Sri Lanka and a referendum on independence.
Carrying banners and placards decrying the ongoing military occupation of the North-East and stating “Our Homeland Tamil Eelam” and “Tamil sovereignty cannot be compromised!”, diaspora Tamils marched through the city, past the Palais des Nations where the UN Human Rights Council’s 27th session is currently taking place.

Tagged with , , , , , ,

Sri Lanka illegally returning Pakistani asylum seekers - UN

Posted by Unknown on Saturday, August 2, 2014 | 0 comments | Leave a comment...

Sri Lanka must stop deporting Pakistani asylum seekers, a practice banned under international law, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Saturday.

Sri Lanka began arresting asylum seekers and refugees on June 9 and has since detained 214 Pakistanis and Afghans in two asylum centres, UNHCR said.

Authorities in Colombo said the influx of illegal immigrants in the past year had become a burden on state resources and potentially compromised state and regional security.

The Sri Lankan government also blamed people trafficking networks for the recent rise in asylum seekers reaching its shores.

In the past two days, Sri Lanka had deported 18 people, with another 10 deportations expected on Sunday, UNHCR said in a statement, adding that the repatriations breached a “no forced return” principle.

“This principle is binding on all states and precludes them from sending asylum seekers and refugees to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened,” it said.

The Convention on Torture also forbids sending people back to places where they might be tortured, it added.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of External Affairs said the number of refugees or asylum seekers had risen by 700 percent in the 2013-2014 period. By June 30 there were 1,562 asylum seekers and 308 refugees, it said.

“These asylum seekers are being encouraged to return, in the vital security interests of Sri Lanka and the region,” it said. 
 
The increase in numbers was due to “people falling victim to commercially-driven human trafficking networks which abuse the liberal visa policy,” as well as a slowdown in the number of refugees resettled in other countries since 2012, it said.

The influx had resulted in serious problems for law and order, security and health, the Ministry said.

“In April 2014, 10 cases of malaria were detected among these asylum seekers. This detection was made at a time when Sri Lanka, having achieved zero indigenous cases of malaria for the past several years, was under consideration for obtaining WHO certification,” it said in a statement.

The Ministry also said the UNHCR had not helped Sri Lanka to speed up the process of dealing with refugees and asylum seekers, and had not provided financial help or housing.

Some applications for resettlement of refugees in third countries had been pending for five years, it said. – Reuters 

Tagged with , , ,

Gaza death toll climbs

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, July 20, 2014 | 0 comments | Leave a comment...

gaza, Gaza attack, Israel, Israel attack on Gaza, Palestine, UN, World News
Diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza increased on Saturday as the Palestinian death toll in the 11-day conflict climbed to more than 300 and at least 50,000 people had to flee their homes in the face of the Israeli military assault from ground, air and sea.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed in a cross-border attack by Hamasmilitants on Saturday, the army said. Military officials said four other soldiers were wounded in the raid by fighters who had used a concealed tunnel to reach Israel. One Hamas gunman was killed, while the rest of the group managed to escape back into Gaza.
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza intensified on Saturday night as a handful of areas were hit every few seconds with tank and rocket fire. With Israel suggesting that its ground offensive could last two weeks, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, travelled to the region to add his weight to efforts to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas.
The Egyptian government restated a proposal it had made on Monday, which was accepted by Israel but dismissed by Hamas. Israel launched the ground invasion following Hamas’s rejection. “This initiative still presents the chance for the two sides to cease fire, ending the bloodshed,” said Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shukri. “It meets the needs of both sides. We will continue to propose it. We hope both sides accept it.” Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said a ceasefire was “an urgent imperative”, adding that his government fully backed the Egyptian initiative, which is also supported by the Arab League. “The absolute priority is a ceasefire, but it must guarantee a lasting truce,” Fabius said in Cairo, after meeting the Egyptian president, Abdul Fatah al-Sisi.
Hamas has refused to agree to a ceasefire without preconditions on the release of prisoners arrested in the West Bank and the opening of crossings from Gaza to Egypt and Israel. Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Channel 4 News on Saturday that Hamas would continue to fire rockets until Israel agreed to its demands.
Qatar and Turkey, seen as allies of Hamas, were also attempting to broker a ceasefire, with the Qatari foreign minister, Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, reportedly tabling a proposal reflecting Hamas’s stance.
In Gaza, Israeli tanks and bulldozers were clearing a wide strip of land inside the perimeter fence as troops continued to hunt for openings to cross-border tunnels dug by militants. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it had found more than a dozen tunnels since the ground offensive started. The UN said the number of internal refugees had more than doubled since the start of the invasion, to at least 50,000, with the number expected to rapidly rise. The World Food Programme was stepping up efforts to distribute supplies to Palestinian civilians caught in the fighting.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched to the Israeli embassy in London , calling for an end to military action in Gaza.
- Guardian

Tagged with , , , , , ,

Twenty-sixth session of UN Human Rights Council to commence

Posted by Unknown on Monday, June 9, 2014 | 0 comments | Leave a comment...

The twenty sixth session of the UN Human Rights Council is due to commence in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday.
The sessions which will commence at 1:30 on Tuesday afternoon , Sri Lankan time, will continue until June 27.
This will incidentally be the final session of the Human Rights Council where Navanethem Pillay will preside as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, prior to the expiration of her term.
The list of the members of the panel that will conduct the international inquiry into alleged human rights violations, is due to be announced at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Tuesday.
Commissioner at the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa says that it is expected that this panel will commence their inquiry next month.
As per the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted in the March session of the council, a five-member team is to be appointed to conduct an inquiry into alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka. However, it is pointed out that no one has been appointed to supervise this team.
As the Government of Sri Lanka has rejected this panel, they are expected to hear testimony in several other countries. The panel will present their final report within ten months.
An advance copy of the UN human rights high commissioner’s opening statement for the 26th session of the Human Rights Council reveals that the OHCHR has assembled a team to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka.
Navi Pillay, during her opening statement is also expected to call on the Sri Lankan government to take this as an opportunity to cooperate to create a credible, truth-seeking process.
Attorney General Palitha Fernando notes that there will be no representative from the Attorney General’s Office in attendance at the Human Rights Council session which commences tomorrow.
Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha is due to make a statement to the council on Tuesday.
In April, India noted that it would not support an international inquiry into alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka, by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has nominated Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations as the new High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Following consultations with the Chairmen of the regional groups of member states, Ban- ki moon informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein as the chief of the human rights body.

Tagged with , , , , , , ,

More News

Most Popular

Tag Cloud

 

Recent News

Archives