海角大神

The UN is calling for the creation of听an international tribunal to finally bring former officials and rebels to justice for the rampant torture, forced disappearances, and civilian deaths听during Sri Lanka鈥檚 26-year civil war.

The UN 听after years of stalling from the former government under Mahinda Rajapaksa, who defeated the Tamil Liberation Tigers (LTTE) in 2009, although tensions have continued to flare since.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra鈥檃d al-Hussein, expressed hope that the January election of new President Maithripala Sirisena would offer 鈥済round for hope.鈥�

The report鈥檚 strongest recommendation is the creation of an international court, composed of both Sri Lankan and foreign experts, to investigate crimes against humanity that occurred during the war, including the recruitment of child soldiers, indiscriminate killing, and widespread, systemic sexual violence.

Some of the atrocities were brought to light in a 2013 Channel 4 documentary that covered the government鈥檚 bombing of hospitals and officially declared 鈥渘o-fire zones,鈥� which The New York Times reports . In total, up to 100,000 Sri Lankans are thought to have died during the war, which pitted separatist Tamil forces against the majority-Sinhalese government.

History, however, and Mr. Sirisena鈥檚 immediate reaction to the report, left Sri Lankans dubious of the potential for change and healing.

Just days before, Sirisena鈥檚 administration announced plans for its own war crimes commission, and seemed open to cooperation with the UN. But the president rejected the High Commissioner鈥檚 claims that the country was not in a position to carry out such a large-scale investigation.

As Senior Sri Lankan minister Rajitha Senaratne , 鈥淲e need an internationally accepted local inquiry. We are not ready to agree with the international inquiries.鈥澨�

Despite Sri Lanka's apparent reluctance to allow foreign prosecutors, BBC analyst Charles Haviland noted one sign of progress: Mr. Senaratne has said that ex-president Rajapaksa might be brought to court.

The UN report stresses that Sri Lanka must not only try individual criminals, but also听, which does not currently criminalize many of the abuses in question nor provide for witness to be protected.听

In nearby Myanmar, which is transitioning to democracy after years under the thumb of a military junta, , or even individual acts of revenge, toward former generals and politicians. But ethnic tensions have exploded, with militant Buddhists urging violence against the Muslim Rohingya minority, who have been restricted to poorly-resourced camps and attempting to flee Myanmar by the thousands.听

Earlier this summer, 海角大神 penned an editorial urging troubled Myanmar to look to Sri Lanka for guidance on reconciliation. The advice may prove premature, if Sirisena鈥檚 government does not open the tribunal to international cooperation.

Opening the UN Human Rights Council鈥檚 30th session this Monday, 听

Unless we change dramatically in how we think and behave as international听actors 鈥� Member States, inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations alike 鈥� all of us in the human rights community will be inconsequential in the face of such mounting violations.