May 07, Colombo: A coalition of more than 20 national and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) today urged the United nations to reject Sri Lanka's bid for the membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council.

In a letter released today the NGO Coalition for an Effective Human Rights Council said “We write to urge that your government not vote for Sri Lanka for membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council in the election in the General Assembly on 21 May 2008 because of Sri Lanka’s failure to meet the Council’s membership standards.”

The group said in the last two years, Sri Lankan government forces have been directly implicated in a wide range of serious abuses of human rights, and have failed to ensure investigations and bring those responsible to justice.

Equally recognizing the abuses by the LTTE rebels, the letter said human rights violations by the rebels do not justify the alleged abuses by the government.

“We recognize that that the armed separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have long been responsible for numerous and horrific human rights abuses. However, abuses by non-state armed groups do not justify rights violations by government forces.” On May 21, the United Nations General Assembly will hold elections for 15 of the 47 seats on the new Human Rights Council.