Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on Nov. 19th, 2013

[Susan Gregson]

That seems to be what we're seeing as well.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

It goes across media. It goes across about anybody's critiquing. The obvious question is how are we going to reach them, the government that is? If the people are disengaged because they just want peace, how do we motivate a government like that from the outside?

[Susan Gregson]

We have to take three tracks. One is to continue on a bilateral basis to engage the government and raise our concerns. Two, we have to engage with the like-minded in the multilateral community, as we do in forums such as the Human Rights Council. There will be some consideration coming up in March of the situation in Sri Lanka. Finally, it's through the work that we do with civil society in Sri Lanka.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

That was going to be my next question, on civil society on the ground. Do you find any particular group being effective? Perhaps when we're televised that might not be the best of questions. In general terms do you find that community is actually starting to be effective?

[Susan Gregson]

We've seen some measurable results from some of the initiatives that we've invested in.

I don't know if Jeff wants to add anything to that.

[Jeff Nankivell, Director General, Development, Asia, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Sure. In terms of our long-term development programs, I won't speak to particular local partners, but we work through some Canadian non-government organizations, international non-government organizations, and agencies of the United Nations system on projects aimed at helping the communities in the north, households in those communities that are coming back to places where they haven't been for many years to re-establish their livelihoods.

We are having some impact there through those programs to get people back into their occupations and to start to rebuild civil society in the broadest sense, which includes local private sector and economic activity.

We have found that it is possible to do this work, but it is challenging and it does vary from month to month and over the last few years because what one does locally is very susceptible to the political circumstances of the time and it's difficult. There are challenges for the international, including Canadian, NGOs, to operate in that environment because the government does control the space in which one works.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

When you're talking government are you talking about the national government, as opposed to municipal governments, or are they both pretty well on the same track relative to how they view human rights?

[Jeff Nankivell]

I wouldn't be in a position to say for particular local governments. My understanding is that it varies depending on the locale and who is actually in administration locally, but central control remains very strong, particularly in the north, and there's a heavy military presence.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

You would think on the ground that people would welcome support to re-establish their communities, to get people back to work and to bring the displaced persons back. I hear a sense of reservation in your voice when you talk about that. On a scale of one to a hundred what would you say the percentage of success is relative to the need?

[Jeff Nankivell]

That would be a very difficult assessment to make because through our partners we are targeting the areas where we feel the most progress can be made. There's a degree of self-selection. If you're trying to run a statistically valid experiment, it would be hard to say because our partners are going to the places where they think they can make some ground, but we are getting results.

I think there are some places where we would say we can achieve 80% or 90% of what we're trying to do. But there are other areas where we're not doing anything. It would be hard to give a generalized opinion.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

That gives us an idea.

What's the status of the LTTE as an organization within the country? Do they still exist, for all intents and purposes, or were they wiped out at the end of the war?

[Deborah Chatsis]

I believe there still are remnants of the organization, but it's not in the state it was prior to the conclusion of the war. I think there's some dissent within the organization but some support still.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Thank you.

Ms. Grewal, you're next.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Earlier this year the Sri Lankan government removed Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake from the office of chief justice through an impeachment. How independent is Sri Lanka's judiciary branch, and what implications does that have for securing human rights in Sri Lanka?

[Susan Gregson]

I think you have raised an area of concern. The replacement was appointed by the government, and Canada has expressed reservations about the extent to which the executive is separate from the judiciary.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Recognizing that the Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009, what strategies or mechanisms have the Sri Lankan government implemented to address war crimes or other serious violations of human rights laws committed during the civil war? In your opinion, have these offered any improvements to the situation?

[Susan Gregson]

I'll ask colleagues to weigh in on this one, but I think one of the concerns we have noted is that there has to be not only restorative justice, but also retributive justice, and there's not necessarily enough progress in that area.

Deborah, did you want to jump in here?

[Deborah Chatsis]

As Susan mentioned earlier, the government established a commission to look at the lessons learned and reconciliation. The report that was issued contained a large number of recommendations, some of which have been put into a plan of action the government continues to work on. Although they have made some progress in some areas, I would say the general opinion is that they haven't done nearly enough.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index ranked Sri Lanka as having a fairly corrupt public sector. How can Canada help to improve the democratic institutions in Sri Lanka?

[Susan Gregson]

We have to work along three tracks. We try to do capacity building in our work with civil society. We try to engage the Sri Lankan government on a bilateral basis. And we try to work with Sri Lanka in partnership with organizations or colleagues we regard as like-minded.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Considering that the UN Human Rights Council resolutions calling for Sri Lanka to implement recommendations were passed within the last two years, what is the approximate timeframe in which Canada would expect to see the recommendations implemented? Is there a specific year in mind?

[Susan Gregson]

We would like to see the recommendations implemented right away, and we would still hope to see some significant progress in the coming months and years. There has been some commitment to making progress on these fronts, but we haven't seen the amount of progress there should be, so we will continue to work with like-minded people and organizations, including through the Human Rights Council, to try to move this forward.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

How much time?

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

You have three minutes left.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I'll pass my time to my colleague.