India has abstained from the vote on UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution on Sri Lanka that calls for an international investigation into alleged war crimes in the final stage of the country’s civil war in 2009.
Sources in the Indian government described the resolution as an “intrusive approach which undermines national sovereignty.” Sri Lankan is being accused of failing to implement adequate reconciliation measures and investigate allegations of war crimes after the end of a three-decade civil war.
The resolution, which is the third consecutive one faced by Sri Lanka, is led by the US, which has insisted Sri Lanka’s human rights record has failed to improve since the conflict between the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers.
Sri Lanka’s government has vehemently denied war crimes allegations and has lobbied extensively to obtain support from UNHRC members, including China, to defeat the resolution.
The Sri Lankan government has stressed that it was “grossly unfair” to investigate only the last phase of the war and constantly called for a comprehensive investigation during the whole three decades of war if an international inquiry was to be conducted.
