India unlikely to move against Sri Lanka at UNHRC

Some western nations would be seeking targeted sanctions on certain Lankan officials for alleged involvement in human rights violations against the LTTE

Notwithstanding the recent strain in New Delhi's relations with Colombo over a port project, India is unlikely to support a resolution proposed to be moved by some western nations at the United Nations Human Rights Council next week seeking punitive actions against Sri Lanka for atrocities on its minority Tamils.

The Sri Lankan government recently scrapped a tripartite deal it had inked with New Delhi to let India and Japan develop and run the East Container Terminal of the Colombo Port. Though New Delhi suspects that Beijing nudged Colombo to scrap the deal, it may not support any move against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC.

The Lankan government, led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in fact, already got in touch with New Delhi seeking support at the UNHRC, which would start its 46th session on February 22.

With the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu around the corner, the BJP government in Delhi over the past few weeks has raised its pitch over the rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. It nudged Colombo to fully implement the 13th amendment to its Constitution to ensure devolution of power to the local governments in its Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern Provinces. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too reaffirmed India's support to Tamils in Sri Lanka during a visit to Chennai on Sunday.

The alleged excesses, human rights violations and atrocities on the minority Tamils during the offensives against rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 were under the scrutiny of the UNHRC for more than a decade now. The government, led by Rajapaksa Clan, in February 2020 withdrew from a 2015 UNHRC resolution, which the erstwhile regime had agreed upon for probe into allegations of atrocities.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, will next week submit at the council a report on Sri Lanka’s progress on implementation of the earlier recommendations made by her office to address allegations of excesses by its armed forces as well as for reconciliation. Canada, United Kingdom and some other western nations are planning to move a resolution at the UNHRC, seeking targeted sanctions, assets freeze and travel bans on certain Sri Lankan officials for alleged involvement in human rights violations during the offensive against the LTTE.

DMK leader M K Stalin urged the government of India to support the move against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC. He wrote to the Prime Minister, arguing that India must join the move against Sri Lanka as the island nation was reluctant to "take forward constructive and internationally acceptable measures for accountability in the matters of war crimes and all human rights violations''.

The source in New Delhi however said that India’s action on the proposed resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC would be guided by its position that any intrusive approach by the council or any other UN organs undermining national sovereignty and institutions of any nation was counterproductive.