Keep pressure on Sri lanka, rights body says

The international community must keep up pressure on Sri lanka to address its human rights crisis, Amnesty International said Monday.

“Sri lanka may well regret having hosted the Commonwealth summit which has proved a PR disaster for the government," said Steve Crawshaw, director of the office of Amnesty International Secretary General. 

"Most of the focus has rightly been on the country’s appalling human rights record. “The challenge for the international community is now to keep up the pressure on the Sri lankan government," he said. 

"Those responsible for past violations, including war crimes, must be held accountable, and ongoing human rights violations stopped irrespective of rank - victims and survivors must see justice done. 

“By awarding Sri lanka the chairmanship for the next two years and membership of the organisation’s human rights oversight body, the Commonwealth has confirmed its failure to address the country’s human rights crisis," said Crawshaw.  “It beggars belief that a country with Sri lanka’s appalling human rights record can be accorded this honour.”