We are not judging Sri Lanka; our attempt is to evaluate the extent of Sri Lanka’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), said UN Human Rights Committee chairman Sir Nigel Rodley yesterday, when concluding the review of Sri Lanka’s human rights record for the fifth time.

Sir Nigel made these remarks in his concluding speech as the reviewing process on Sri Lanka came to an end. “We are not judging Sri Lanka as has been suggested from time to time. What we are trying to evaluate is the extent of Sri Lanka’s compliance with the ICCPR,” Sir Nigel said.

He said that the Committee recognised that Sri Lanka was emerging from the end of a bloody war, but noted that the allegations (regarding which substantial evidence had been presented) included widespread disappearances, extra judicial killings, torture as a systematic practice and the questions raised on impunity -- and they needed to be addressed.

“Zero tolerance or no zero tolerance, the question is whether these violations like torture continue to occur,” he said. (Lakna Paranamanna)