With the visit of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to Sri Lanka, the spotlight shifts back to the long-standing concerns and allegations about the island’s human rights track record. 

While Sri Lanka has some serious human rights-related issues to address and has failed to do so diligently through an effective domestic mechanism to-date, the UN HR High Commissioner’s visit and the attention given to Sri Lanka’s issues reeks of the duplicity in the global order when it comes to selective punishment of human rights issues. One would have expected Türk to be up to his ears in the war crimes which have been taking place in Gaza and Palestine or be probing violations by both parties in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Once again, the focus of Türk visit, like his predecessors, seem to be allegations of one side of the story, while they conveniently remain blind to the allegations made by the other side of the story. Here again the duplicity is evident, aided by a Government which lacks a backbone to tell both sides of the story. 

Alas, that is not to be. We have the Israeli Prime Minister who is now sanctioned by the International Criminal Court along with Yoav Gallant, the former Minister of Defence of Israel, being charged with alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, we see such people freely move around the world and act with impunity with the UN apparatus only being able to issue verbal warnings against such States and their leaders. This is a product of the ‘West’ taking upon itself the alleged task of protecting human rights and democracy in the world and meting out punishment to those who violate them. Over many decades, multiple smaller States, especially those not in the global north and not part of the ‘West’ have complained that this posture of moral superiority by the West has thus been able to weaponise human rights to pursue the geopolitical interests of a few powerful nations. Allegations have also been made that the West manipulates the UN, especially the UNHRC, for that purpose. Too often, Western governments label countries which they consider human rights violators; and exert pressure, leveraging threats and UN action to gain geopolitical advantages for themselves. Sometimes the ‘West’ even resort to imposing economic sanctions and resorting to military intervention in the name of their human rights. Such interventions into Libya and many other nations in Africa, have left behind tragedy and human suffering in its wake.

While Israel, armed and equipped by the collective ‘West’ continues to steam roll over all international laws, norms, and blast Palestinians to oblivion. The ‘West’ stands in solidarity with the ongoing crimes and supports them. The recent G7 declaration is an unvarnished example of the state of the global order which we in the collective South are told to, ‘tow the line’ and to join in as merry ‘partners’ in a so-called ‘rules-based order’ which only seems to apply to the countries which are not in the ‘club’. The return of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, and the visible shift in the political landscape in Europe may herald a change in the moral high-horse approach. Going by the dismantling of some of the key multilateral initiatives, the United States and the leader of the West has signaled that it will be more assertive and act unilaterally in the coming years. Few have called out the West for its duplicity and survived the retaliation. The ‘West’ will not give up their effort to be seen as the champions of human rights and democracy, they know the value of it as instruments to advance their geo-political agendas. There is no honour or shame in this line of work.

Sri Lanka must understand what it is facing and move quickly to build a domestic mechanism which can effectively address the allegations and concerns. Perhaps, such mechanisms which never remove the spotlight from the island, as long as it remains a strategic node. But it would offer Sri Lankans the chance to make a concrete effort to address its dark past and move on towards a stronger nation. One which will be less vulnerable to international influence and exploitation.