The European Parliament adopted by 44 votes to 4 with 4 abstentions a resolution on the situation in Sri Lanka.

The resolution was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA, and ECR groups.

Parliament expressed its appreciation for the restoration of peace in Sri Lanka, when the decades-long conflict between the Sri Lankan Government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north of the country came to an end in in May 2009. It acknowledged the efforts of the Sri Lankan government to resettle the majority of the country’s 400 000 internally displaced people, and welcomed the first ever elections to the Provincial Council in the Northern Province, held on 21 September 2013, which the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party won with an overwhelming majority.

However, Parliament was concerned about the presence of government military forces in the former conflict areas, leading to human rights violations including land grabbing, with more than one thousand court cases pending that involve landowners who have lost their property, and worrying numbers of reported sexual assaults of women. Whilst commending the national action plan for implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) – set up on 15 May 2010 by President Rajapaksa - Parliament called on the government to intensify its efforts and carry out credible investigations into the widespread allegations of extrajudicial killings, and to: (i) further demilitarise the north of Sri Lanka, (ii) complete impartial land dispute resolution mechanisms, (iii) strengthen formerly independent civil institutions such as the police force, the judiciary and the Human Rights Commission, and (iv) reach a long-term political settlement on the further devolution of power to the provinces. It was also very concerned about the continuing reports of intimidation and human rights violations (including by the security forces).

Members went to note that the internal review panel on the UN’s functioning in Sri Lanka during the final phase of the war came to the conclusion that the UN institutions’ failure to stand up for the rights of the people they were mandated to assist collectively amounted to a failure by the UN to act within the scope of institutional mandates to meet protection responsibilities. Parliament called on the UN and its member states to analyse carefully the failures of the international community in Sri Lanka and to take adequate measures to ensure that the UN will be able to meet much higher standards in the future.

Lastly, the resolution urged the Sri Lankan Government, along with the EU and its Member States, to continue to provide the necessary resources for the further clearance of land mines, and recognised the considerable funding already provided by the EU.