COLOMBO: Even as Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, insisted on Wednesday at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva that Sri Lanka must appoint foreign judges to try alleged war crimes cases, Sri Lanka in its response avoided the use of the term and instead said it will consider the use of “foreign expertise”.

Calling for foreign judges as per the resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka in Sept-Oct 2015, Zeid said that “combined with a general lack of trust in the impartiality of the justice system regarding past violations, this continuing unwillingness or inability to address impunity reinforces the need for international participation in a judicial mechanism. For this to be credible, it should include a special counsel, foreign judges and defence lawyers.”

The Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva in his response rejected committing to use ‘foreign judges’. “As we go through the complex process of establishing new mechanisms, we will continue to consult with all segments of our society. We will also seek international expertise and assistance, as all countries do, when they undertake such responsibilities,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017