Sri Lankan troops barred from UN peacekeeping over Shavendra’s appointment

The United Nations suspended Sri Lankan Army deployments in the world body’s peacekeeping operations over the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as army chief, an official said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka’s president in August appointed war veteran Shavendra Silva as its army commander, drawing sharp criticism from the United States and the United Nations over the appointment of an officer who has been accused of serious human rights violations.

“We have expressed our concern to the government of Sri Lanka over the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva to the position of commander of the Sri Lanka Army despite well-documented, credible allegations of his involvement in serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law,” U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York.

“In light of this appointment, the U.N. Department of Peace Operations is therefore suspending future Sri Lankan army deployments except where suspension would expose U.N. operations to serious operational risk.”

Silva, 55, is credited with successfully leading an army division against dissident Tamil Tigers in the final phases of the island nation’s 26-year-long brutal civil war.

A United Nations panel has accused Silva’s division of suspected extrajudicial executions of unarmed rebels in the final week of the war, which ended in 2009, and systematic torture of people in custody.

Silva, who joined the army in 1984 and had been its chief of staff since January, has denied the accusations.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement in August that Silva’s promotion “severely compromises Sri Lanka’s commitment to promote justice and accountability.”

The United States expressed its disapproval of Silva’s appointment in a strongly worded statement and said “the allegations of gross human rights violations against him, documented by the United Nations and other organizations, are serious and credible.”

Silva was named head of the army after the term of the previous chief, Mahesh Senanayake, ended in July.

The Sri Lankan president’s office and the military media unit did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the criticism.

Various countries contribute forces to U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world.

Source: Reuters and Agencies

The following statement is attributable to a Spokesperson for UN Peace Operations in New York:
 
Sri Lanka currently provides uniformed military personnel to six UN peacekeeping operations. We are grateful for these contributions to UN peace operations, particularly in some of the UN’s most complex missions.
 
In light of the UN’s commitment to the highest human rights standards for all personnel deployed on UN peace operations, we have expressed our concern to the Government of Sri Lanka over the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva to the position of Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, despite well-documented, credible allegations of his involvement in serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
 
In light of this appointment, the UN Department of Peace Operations is therefore suspending future Sri Lankan Army deployments except where suspension would expose UN operations to serious operational risk.
 
A Sri Lankan Army unit and individual officers currently serving with UN Peacekeeping will thus be repatriated, beginning next month, in accordance with their rotation dates and will not be replaced by Sri Lankan personnel.
 
This was communicated to the Sri Lankan Permanent Representative by the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations on 12 September, and technical discussions between the Department of Peace Operations and the Sri Lankan Permanent Mission have begun on operationalizing the decision.