NEW DELHI: India has abstained from voting in the United Nations Human Rights Council on a resolution on alleged human rights violations by Sri Lanka during the final days of the Tamil Eelam war.
Japan ans 12 other countries also did not vote.
The resolution titled ‘Promotion of Reconciliation Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka' was adopted by the UNHRC after 22 members out of 47 voted in favour of it. Eleven members, including China, voted against the resolution.
The resolution had accused Lanka of war crimes with threats to take those responsible to the International Courts and impose targeted sanctions against officials allegedly responsible for human rights violations.
A UN report had called for drastic measures against those allegedly responsible for rights violations during last phase of the armed conflict with the LTTE (2009).
Sri Lanka described the draft resolution as "unwarranted, unjustified and in violations of the relevant articles of the United Nations' Charter."
Shortly before the vote, the Indian mission in Geneva released a carefully worded statement, expressing support for Lankan Tamils, while stressing on unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
"India supports the call by the international community for the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitments on the devolution of political authority, including through the early holding of elections for Provincial Councils and to ensure that all Provincial Councils are able to operate effectively, in accordance with the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution," the statement read.
At the same time, it said, India believes that the work of Office of the Human Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) should be in conformity with mandate given by the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly.
The government of Gotabaya Rajapaksa had officially withdrawn from co-sponsoring the previous resolution undertaken by the previous government. It had called for an international investigation into alleged war crimes committed by both the government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the final phase of the near-three-decade-long civil war that ended in May 2009.
Rajapaksa had called PM Modi just days before the voting, seeking India's support on the matter.
On the other hand, Tamil political parties had urged PM Modi not to take a soft stand against Colombo.
The Sri Lankan Tamils issues is a emotive one in Tamil Nadu politics, and almost all parties, including DMK, MDMK and PMK had appealed to PM Modi to take a firm stand and support the resolution.
(With agency inputs)