Open Letter to Commonwealth Heads of Government

• Publicly express dissatisfaction with Sri Lanka as a venue both before, at and after the CHOGM;
• Reconsider the level of representation to the official meeting;
• Demand that the Commonwealth does not allow Sri Lanka to chair the Commonwealth following the CHOGM; and
• Use the CHOGM moment to extract from the Government of Sri Lanka precise time bound commitments to uphold its international human rights obligations and take effective steps to ensure accountability of credibly alleged war crimes.

In the long run, we exhort the Commonwealth and its member States to take required actions to uphold the Commonwealth’s commitment to its values, as enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter adopted earlier this year. Compliance with the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles that require the separation of powers and ensure independence of the judiciary is a verifiable benchmark for assessing compliance with fundamental Commonwealth values. We also urge the Commonwealth to be more transparent about its Good-Offices and specific about its outcomes. We are of the view that the Good-Offices of the Secretary General do not preclude the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group from being vigorous in fulfilling its enhanced mandate.

Despite the reforms, the Commonwealth’s mechanisms have been inadequate to hold Member States to account over their human rights records. Now more than ever before there is a need to appoint a Commonwealth Commissioner for Human Rights, to rebuild the confidence of its people and ensure a renewed, relevant and sustainable Commonwealth. We urge the Member States to champion this call and insert the missing link in the reform process.

With the summit just a few weeks away, we hope your government will take into consideration these concerns, and bring them into action.