Undermining Sovereignty: UK-Led Core Group Missteps – UNHRC’s Case against Sri Lanka built on illegality, bias, and a leaked report without Mandate”

 

The US has passed the baton to UK at the 59^th UNHRC & the UK-led Core Group statement not surprisingly continues the witch hunt through political pressure grounded in an illegal & discredited 2011 Darusman Report. This report was personally commissioned by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon without approval of the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council or any intergovernmental UN body. It was never tabled, debated or adopted by the UN. Most importantly Sri Lanka was never given the customary right of reply. However, this unofficial, leaked document which has no standing under international law has been the centre of a decade of biased UNHRC resolutions initially peddled by the US & now passed on to UK. This baton-change reflects a tedious attempt to sustain a geopolitical agenda through falsehoods & manipulative tactics behind the Core Groups ongoing campaign against Sri Lanka. How can a nation be punished & harassed for defeated 3 decades of terrorism, restoring peace, territorial integrity? Why should a nation be harassed for defending itself against terror? Sri Lanka deserves fair play & Sri Lanka has every right to defends its sovereignty & its constitution.

 

Let’s look back at the 2011 Darusman Report was formed the illegitimate foundation for UNHRC Resolutions:

 

• Commissioned Unofficially: Created by former UNSG Ban Ki-moon’s personal direction—not by the UN General Assembly (UNGA)or Security Council (UNSC). It was never mandated, debated, or adopted by any formal UN body.
• Never Tabled, Never Titled: The report was never submitted to UNGA, UNSC, OHCHR, or UNHRC, nor presented as an official document. Ban Ki-moon himself later clarified it was not an official UN report. It was actually leaked to public domain.
• No Right to Reply: Sri Lanka was denied access or the opportunity to respond before the report became the basis of UNHRC and OHCHR statements—flouting principles of audi alteram partem (listen to the other side)and procedural fairness.
• Erroneous Use of Non‑Binding “Evidence”: Despite its dubious origins, this private document was repeatedly publicized as a valid international legal source, betraying both legal protocolsand sovereign respect.

 

Having tired itself from peddling biased UNHRC resolutions the US has quietly stepped aside & the UK has taken over. The UK having occupied Sri Lanka for over 100 years may first like to atone for its colonial crimes before calling for accountability from Sri Lanka.

 

What are the UK-led Core Group demands?

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/un-human-rights-council-59-sri-lanka-core-group-statement-for-the-interactive-dialogue-on-the-high-commissioners-annual-report

 

1. Demand for “Full Implementation” of Past UNHRC Resolutions

 

• Counter:These resolutions are non-binding and politically driven, derived from the illegitimate Darusman Report. UNHRC has no legal authority to enforce them. Forcing implementation violates the UN Charter’s principle of sovereign equality (Article 2.1) and non-intervention (Article 2.7).

 

2. Calls for continued accountability mechanisms and transitional justice enforced by External Bodies

 

• Counter:Under the UN Charter (Article 2(7)), the UN must not intervene in the domestic jurisdiction of member states except under Security Council Chapter VII resolutions—none of which apply here. Imposing externally-driven justice mechanisms undermines Sri Lanka’s constitutional authority and due process systems.
• Sri Lanka’s Constitution gives supremacy to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka – Article 127. (1) “The Supreme Court shall, subject to the Constitution, be the final Court of civil and criminal appellate jurisdiction for and within the Republic of Sri Lanka for the correction of all errors in fact or in law which shall be committed by the Court of Appeal or any Court of First Instance, tribunal or other institution and the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court shall in all cases be final and conclusive in all such matters”
• No international court, tribunal, or hybrid mechanismcan override this finality without violating Sri Lanka’s Constitution.
• This clauseblocks external judicial interventions such as those promoted in UNHRC Resolutions

 

Oversight and Monitoring of Sri Lanka’s Laws and Judiciary by OHCHR and International Bodies

 

• Counter:This infringes on domestic jurisdiction. UN Charter Article 2(7) prohibits UN intervention in matters of domestic governance. Sri Lanka’s judiciary, parliament, and commissions are fully capable of enforcing justice without foreign surveillance.

 

Demands for Sri Lanka’s Cooperation with International Investigations and Commissions

 

• Counter:Sri Lanka has repeatedly cooperated through legitimate domestic processes. Forced cooperation based on an illegitimate, leaked report is a violation of the country’s sovereign rights and due process guarantees as well as violating Article 2(1) of the UN Charter on sovereign equality.

 

Legal & Constitutional Violations by the Core Group:

 

• UN Charter Articles 2(1) & 2(7):Forbid interference in domestic matters without a Security Council mandate.
• Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Article 127(1):No foreign court can override Supreme Court authority.
• ICJ Precedent (Nicaragua v. USA):Coercive measures without UNSC authorization, even for human rights claims, are illegal.
• Non-Binding Status of UNHRC Resolutions:These are political declarations—not enforceable instruments under international law.

 

Darusman Report’s Legal Illegitimacy:

• Never tabled before theUNGA, UNSC, OHCHR, or UNHRC.
• Commissioned privately by Ban Ki-Moon—without intergovernmental mandate.
• Not subject to intergovernmental scrutiny or reply.
• Violates the UN’s own procedural norms, particularly the right of reply and fair hearing.

 

Selective Memory: LTTE Crimes & UN’s Silence

• UN failed to stop the LTTE’schild recruitment and suicide training.
• No prosecution ofAdele Balasingham, who indoctrinated child soldiers while residing in the UK & continues to reside in the UK.
• Sri Lankaalone:
  • Rescued over290,000 Tamil civilians.
  • Rehabilitated594 child soldiers under a homegrown process.
  • Reintegrated11,000+ former LTTE cadres without international imposition.

 

From US to UK: Same Failed Agenda

• From 2012 to 2019, the United States witch hunt against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC, sponsoring resolutions grounded in unverified allegations and a leaked, unauthorized report. Facing growing criticism and diminishing credibility, the U.S. quietly stepped back.
• The United Kingdom has since assumed leadership of the Core Group, but merely echoes the same discredited narrative—without offering new evidence or legitimacy.
• The UK, still burdened by its own brutal colonial legacy in Sri Lanka, now lectures a sovereign nation on accountability. It does so while ignoring its historical role in institutionalized division, exploitation, and violence.
• The foundation of the UNHRC’s claims—particularly the repeated allegation of “40,000 Tamil civilian deaths”—remains unsupported. No forensic evidence. No mass graves or skeletons of the 40,000 supposed to be killed. No verified identities or birth certificates. Yet the myth persists, politicized for international consumption.
• UK continues a geopolitical script authored over a decade ago—built not on justice, but on impunity for terrorists and vilification of a sovereign state that defeated them. Most of the terrorist fronts continue to operate from the very countries within the core-group & questions what they have done about a terrorist organization that they continue to ban.

 

Have Sri Lanka’s diplomats appraised the new Govt & President of the non-binding nature of the UNHRC Resolutions? If not, they should.

 

Sri Lanka must Reclaim Legal and Moral Ground & instruct its representatives to officially declare on behalf of Sri Lanka that:

 

• The Darusman Reportis legally void—commissioned without mandate, never adopted, never rebutted.
• The UK-led Core Groupcampaign is built on procedural injustice and colonial-style pressure tactics.
• Sri Lanka’s sovereign legal system and Constitutioncannot be superseded by non-binding foreign opinions.
• The UNHRC has failed to act on LTTE atrocities, choosing instead to target the state that defeated terrorism.
• Sri Lanka must firmly rejectthese intrusive demands and inform the Core Group that:

“Justice and reconciliation will be pursued within the framework of Sri Lanka’s Constitution, under the authority of its courts, and in line with the will of its people—not through foreign coercion or illegitimate UN documents.”

Sri Lanka’s Government should reply that it will continue to pursue justice and reconciliation on its own constitutional terms—free from external coercion and biased narratives.

 

 

 

Shenali D Waduge