Japan on human rights

Not so Shared Values: Japan distances itself from the US on Human Rights

Today?s action by the UN Human Rights Council encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to continue on the path toward reconciliation following 27 years of civil war. The United States, together with the international community, sent a strong signal that Sri Lanka will only achieve lasting peace through real reconciliation and accountability, and the international community stands ready to help. The next steps are clear. We look to the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the constructive recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and take the necessary measures to address accountability. We are committed to working with the Sri Lankan Government to help realize this goal, and I look forward to discussing future actions with Foreign Minister Peiris soon. We will continue the productive working relationship we have with the Sri Lankan Government based on shared values, respect and constructive dialogue. Most important, we seek to strengthen our partnership with all the people of Sri Lanka.

The United States Government applauds today's passage of the UN Human Rights Council's resolution on "Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka." The resolution, which received broad support from around the world, calls for a range of critical steps that would go a long away to advancing the rights and dignity of the Sri Lankan people. The United States urges the Sri Lankan government to develop a comprehensive action plan for implementing steps on reconciliation and accountability, as called for in today's resolution, and to work with UN experts and its partners in the international community to take meaningful action to achieve these important goals, which will be a critical part of Sri Lanka's efforts to provide a bright, peaceful, and stable future for all of its people. We stand ready to partner with Sri Lanka in this important effort.

No country has a perfect record on human rights, and countries need to be given time, space, encouragement, advice, and where appropriate, concrete assistance in order to overcome existing challenges. The political, socio-economic and cultural contexts of each country duly need to be considered when addressing human rights issues. Too often a false dichotomy is constructed between the universality of human rights per se and the particularity of specific human rights situations. Discussions, including those by this council, need to combine the two essential facets of human rights issues in a constructive manner. 

Our view is that if there isn?t some form of truth and accounting of these kind of mass-scale atrocities and casualties, you can?t have lasting peace. You will sow the seeds of future violence. So we think it?s important that they take steps to show there will be some form of truth and accountability.