Thread by @TamilGuardian

LIVE - Tamil Guardian will be providing live coverage of the #HRC49 interactive dialogue on UN High Commissioner @mbachelet's report on Sri Lanka.

“The proposals to amend some provisions of the PTA, and to release some detainees under the Act are welcome initial steps. I encourage the government to take further steps to address the fundamental problems with the PTA” @mbachelet said in her written update.

She also urged the Sri Lankan government to "undertake the deeper legal institutional and security sector reforms that are critically needed to put an end to impunity and prevent any recurrence of past violations."

"Regrettably, the past year has also seen further obstruction and setbacks to accountability. Victims and their families continue to be denied trust, truth and justice," the human rights chief said.

"I remain deeply concerned by the concentration of civilian positions in the hands of military officials, some of them implicated in serious allegations of human rights violations," Bachelet added.

"I am also deeply concerned by continuing reports of harassment and intimidation of civil society organisations, human rights defenders and journalists by police and intelligence services," she said.

In response, Sri Lanka said that “Sri Lanka and other member states oppose this resolution in fundamental disagreement with its deeply flawed procedure and unacceptable content. In particular, its operative paragraph six regarding - a so called evidence gathering mechanism.”

"It is a matter for deep regret, that numerous instances of unsubstantiated allegations and superficial conclusions insensitive to the complexity of ground situations, have found their way into the report," Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister G L Peiris said.

The EU urged Sri Lanka to bring the PTA “in line with international standards.”

“We welcome the recent releases on bail related to the PTA and encourage further releases. We condemn the ongoing surveillance and harassment or civil society organisations.”

The Netherlands expressed their concern over the “erosion of democratic institutions, the independence of the judiciary and the lack of accountability for past human rights violations.”

Norway called on SL “to put an end to surveillance and intimidation of civil society including arbitrary arrests. We are concerned about the lack of progress in the areas of transition justice, accountability and reconciliation.”

The UK said it was concerned with the “slow progress by the Office of Missing Persons in fully investigating cases.”

They added that the “proposed changes to the PTA are very limited” and “long standing concerns remain.”

Saudi Arabia commended Sri Lanka's "efforts to promote human rights and for its cooperation with the Human Rights Council mechanisms."

Germany said “more comprehensive reforms are urgently needed to bring counterterrorism legislation in line with international standards and allow civil society to operate freely and safely.”

Egypt said that it reaffirmed "the importance to be committed to principles of universality, objectivity, in all selectivity, and to do away with double standards when dealing with right issues."

“We emphasise that the upcoming constitutional process should lead to the independence of the judiciary and other key institutions and the devotion of political authority,” Montenegro said.