International Donors: Take Action with Sri Lanka

Despite rapidly escalating violence and rapidly deteriorating conditions in Sri Lanka, the international community has failed to take any meaningful action to stop the government of that country from violating an array of international human rights laws. Due to the lack of initial response, the government of Sri Lanka has clearly recognized that they will not be held accountable for their actions; there have been no consequences for their crimes against humanity. They have no reason to stop the atrocities. It is with the utmost urgency that we ask international donors to give the government of Sri Lanka reason to take heed: make funding to that country contingent upon verifiable compliance with international human rights law and measurable progress on the peace front.

Reports from the January, 2007 conference of international donors in Galle, Sri Lanka, state that “there is significant donor pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to resume peace talks,” yet we are certain that without clearly defining conditions that must be met in order for funding to be provided, calls for peace will once again go unheeded. It is essential that money be withheld from the government of Sri Lanka until such time as they prove their commitment to the peace process and cease systematically violating human rights.

At the recent donor conference, World Bank Vice President Praful Patel noted the following grim facts:
• The last 14 months have been especially bloody, especially for civilians: In the past year more than 3,500 Sri Lankans were killed as result of increased hostilities [a more recent report by the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission places this number at 4,000];
• Within the past year, over 200,000 additional persons have been displaced in the conflict.
Mr. Patel further reported, “Sri Lankan researchers have estimated that the conflict has cost the economy 2 to 3 percentage points of GDP growth annually—growth that could have eliminated poverty in the country by now. And, this estimate does not come close to reflecting the human costs of the conflict: more than 65,000 dead, over 500,000 displaced, human rights undermined and a social fabric torn apart by the brutality and persistence of civil conflict.”

At this same conference, United States Ambassador Robert Blake confirmed the displacement of 200,000 persons in the past 12 months and stated “The UN estimates that twice that number could eventually become homeless if hostilities continue.” Mr. Blake further noted deepening concern for the “difficulties faced by some of our implementing partners in their attempt to implement assistance programs.”

Military and Defense Spending
All indicators suggest that the conflict situation is only getting worse. Violence is on the rise with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse vowing to use military force to crush the LTTE, despite international consensus that there can be no military solution to the decades-long conflict. Sri Lanka’s defense budget for 2007 has ballooned out of proportion to the rest of the budget, to US $1.4 Billion. This is an increase of 46% over the previous year. This coming year, Sri Lanka will be spending more than 23% of its income on defense-related expenditures.

It is important to note that military and “defense” activities have included bombardments of densely populated civilian areas, including homes, hospitals and schools (a violation of the Geneva Conventions 4, Article 147), and the military occupation of a third of residential areas (a violation of Article 2 of the CFA, which specifically bars the harassment of civilians and requires civilian areas such as residential homes, schools, places of worship and public buildings returned to the people). With residential areas thus occupied, more than 300,000 people have been left to suffer in IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. The majority of these camps are in deplorable condition due to lack of food, water, sanitation, medical care, schooling, and adequate shelter. Some of the IDPs are housed in schools, making the schools for those local communities unusable.

In early 2006, talks were held in Geneva concerning the full implementation of the Cease Fire Agreement of 2001. At the talks, the government of Sri Lanka promised to implement the CFA and disarm its paramilitary groups. Instead, the Sri Lankan military and the paramilitaries intensified hostilities and stepped up military operations.

Consider, too, that state-sponsored military operations have involved the criminal practice of engaging child soldiers. In February, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations Allan Rock, who traveled to Sri Lanka in November on behalf of the UN's special representative on child soldiers, reported that the Sri Lankan government has participated in abducting children and forcing them to fight on the front lines. A 100-page report by Human Rights Watch backing Rock’s report is available in the public domain.

In what is perhaps the government’s most horrific display of crimes against humanity, the government of Sri Lanka closed the A-9 highway, the only land route linking the Northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the island. For over six months approximately 600,000 Tamil civilians have been trapped in this region, where they continue to be denied food, medicine and humanitarian aid. The closure of the A-9 and the government’s adamant refusal to reopen it is a standing breach of Clause 2.10 of the CFA. The deliberate withholding of food and medicine from the civilian population is also a grave breach of article 147 and also violates articles 55 and 59-63 of Geneva Convention IV.

When it comes to allocating aid, please take into account that, according to U. N. statistics, Tamil regions have received 20 percent less Tsunami aid than other areas, despite having suffered 65 percent of the tsunami destruction. And as little as 29 percent of the required permanent houses have been completed in the war-torn Tamil regions, compared to 98 percent in the south. It is vitally important for donors to ensure equitable distribution of aid.

We are encouraged by Britain’s recently stated position that it will withhold millions of pounds in aid to Sri Lanka if the island’s government fails to provide assurances that it is fulfilling agreed upon human rights and defense spending conditions. A spokeswoman for Britain's Department for International Development said that if assurances are not provided, the next installment of funds will not be paid. We emphasize the importance of insisting that assurances materialize as more than just words. We hope that Britain will make good on these ultimatums and we encourage all donors to Sri Lanka to assume a similar position.

Please do not delay in taking a stand against the crimes against humanity that are the defining feature of the current government of Sri Lanka. Insist that funding will be contingent upon civilized, legal, humane behavior. Time is running out.