MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Sri Lanka
10.12.2013 - (2013/2982(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Phil Bennion, Marietje Schaake, Sarah Ludford, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Jelko Kacin, Angelika Werthmann, Louis Michel, Kristiina Ojuland, Robert Rochefort, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Marielle de Sarnez, Hannu Takkula on behalf of the ALDE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0563/2013
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Sri Lanka of 4 February 2009 and 12 March 2009,
- having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure
A. Whereas in May 2009 the long-running war in Sri Lanka came to an end with the surrender of the Liberation Tigers Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the death of their leader.
B. Whereas as many as 100,000 people are thought to have been killed in the period of the civil war and after the conflict had ended, with some 6,000 cases of enforced disappearances remaining unaccounted for.
C. Whereas the Sri Lankan Government has an obligation, under international law, to ensure any violations of international humanitarian and human rights law are investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted, and has an obligation to ensure redress for victims of such violations.
D. Whereas the UN human rights chief Navi Pillay and the UK prime minister, David Cameron, have said that if no credible domestic investigations are carried out by March 2014, there should be an international inquiry.
1. Calls on Sri Lanka to urgently instigate its own independent inquiry into violations of international law during Sri Lanka’s civil war.
2. Believes that if no crediblee, independent domestic investigations are carried out by March 2014, the UN should begin the process of commissioning an independent international inquiry.
3. Urges the Government of Sri Lanka to fully and immediately implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
4. Regrets reported failures by the Government of Sri Lanka to adequately defend the unhindered operation of a free press and media and calls for immediate steps to be taken to prevent future transgressions.
5. Welcomes efforts by the Government of Sri Lanka towards reconstruction and reconciliation in the north of the country, but calls for more to be done to ensure the participation and inclusion of all local communities.
6. Notes that, for the first time in 25 years, council elections were carried out in the Northern Province on the 21 September 2013 and welcomes these as a step on the path to normalisation.
7. Calls on the EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton, to monitor progress towards an effective accountability process in Sri Lanka and, if no progress is made by March 2014, to also support the establishment of a credible international investigation mechanism with a strong mandate.
8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European External Action Service, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the UN Human Rights Council and the Government of Sri Lanka.