Sri Lanka has begun preparing for a key review of the human rights situation in the country at the UN in Geneva, officials said on Sunday.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of some countries including Sri Lanka will take place in Geneva between October and November this year.

As a prelude to this the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said it had discussions with government officials on implementing the recommendations mentioned during the last Universal Periodic Review on Sri Lanka held in 2008 in Geneva.

Sri Lanka has accepted 52 and rejected 25 of a total of 85 recommendations given by the UPR working group in 2008 and has expressed a general response to 8, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said.

The accepted recommendations include the strengthening and ensuring of the independence of human rights institutions such as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, to take measures to safeguard freedom of expression and to adopt necessary measures to safeguard the human rights of internally displaced people in accordance with applicable international standards.

UPR recommendations such as to extend standing invitations under the special procedures and to accept an independent international human rights mechanism on the ground as soon as possible have been rejected by the government, while it has expressed a general response to recommendations such as to sign and ratify the International Convention for Protection of All persons from Enforced Disappearances.

The UPR is a human rights mechanism which was established by the UN General Assembly through which the UN Human Rights Council reviews, on a periodic basis, the fulfillment of the human rights obligations by each country.

The UN Human Rights Council in March this year passed a resolution on Sri Lanka calling for accountability on some of the incidents alleged to have taken place during the final stages of a 30 year war with the Tamil Tigers.

The Council also wants Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of a local war commission known as the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

By  Xinhua
Source: Adaderana.lk