‘Am I under surveillance?’ Canadian envoy asks Sri Lanka as details of closed meeting surface

The development comes at a time the UNHCR could vote on an impending resolution, backed by Canada and the UK, against Sri Lanka for human rights violations during its 26-year-long civil war.

Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka David McKinnon | Twitter | @McKinnonDavid

New Delhi: Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka David Mckinnon recently asked if he was under surveillance after details of his meeting with Bangladesh High Commissioner Tareq Ariful Islam were leaked in media reports.

In a tweet Saturday, McKinnon linked a report from Sri Lankan daily ‘The Island’ and asked — “Am I under surveillance?”

Am I under surveillance? #SriLanka https://t.co/jvnmuq3jyP

— David McKinnon (@McKinnonDavid) March 6, 2021

While it is unclear when the high commissioner met Islam, there was reportedly no media present during the meeting. And yet, details of the meet surfaced in several media reports.

However, Sri Lankan police spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana reportedly denied these allegations of surveillance.

This also comes in the backdrop of a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session, where an impending resolution against Sri Lanka’s alleged human rights violations during its 26-year-long civil war could be put to vote.

Canada and the UK have been vociferous supporters of the resolution, which has been rejected by the Sri Lankan government.

The report tweeted by McKinnon reads: “The Sri Lanka Core group members, Canada and the UK, are campaigning hard to muster support for their resolution against Sri Lanka at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council.”

It added that UK High Commissioner Sarah Hulton had also met South Korean Ambassador Woonjin Jeong around the same time.

The report also notes that a meeting between these high commissioners is “rare”, and is a bid by the core group to muster support for the resolution at the 47-member UNHRC.

The current UNHRC session is set to conclude on 23 March but it’s yet to decide if a vote on the resolution will happen or not.

The resolution

The draft UNHRC resolution against Sri Lanka is based on a report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Council released on 27 January, that alleged Sri Lanka had failed to address human rights violations or war crimes of its civil war and is set on the same trajectory again.

While releasing the report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet had said that the war devastated millions of lives and “despite commitments made in 2015, the current government, like its predecessor, has failed to pursue genuine truth-seeking or accountability processes”.

The draft resolution or “zero draft” — which was presented by the Core Group on Sri Lanka that includes the UK, Germany and Canada on 24 February — draws on elements of the report, including strengthening UNHCR’s capacity to preserve evidence of the war and strategies for future accountability.

It also asks the High Commissioner’s office to monitor the progress on national reconciliation and accountability mechanisms, according to a report in The Indian Express.

However, when the resolution was tabled, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena asked the council to reject it, calling it unsubstantiated and a “pure political move” against the country.

(Edited by Rachel John)