Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

  (a)   notes:

     (i)   a roundtable meeting held in Federal Parliament supported a call for Sri Lanka to be suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth because it has:

  (a)   refused to hold an independent investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the final stages of the civil war in 2009, and

  (b)   breached its commitment to uphold the 'rule of law' in the Commonwealth's values and principles, as set out in the Millbrook Commonwealth Action Program,

     (ii)   a precedent was set for temporarily suspending a country from the Councils of the Commonwealth when Pakistan was suspended in 1999 and Fiji was suspended in 2000 and 2006, and

     (iii)   the Sri Lankan President is planning to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in October 2011; and

  (b)   calls on the Australian Government to support calls for Sri Lanka to be suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth until the Government of Sri Lanka:

     (i)   agrees to an international independent investigation into war crimes,

     (ii)   restores human rights and the rule of law, and

     (iii)   implements all of the recommendations of the United Nations Expert Panel Report on War Crimes in Sri Lanka.

David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government does not support dealing with complex foreign policy motions through simple Senate resolutions. That has been longstanding practice for the parliamentary Labor Party. Therefore, the government cannot support this motion.

Australia and like-minded countries nonetheless continue to urge Sri Lanka to address serious allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both sides during the final stages of the Sri Lankan conflict. In particular, the government has asked Sri Lanka to test the findings of the UN Secretary-General's advisory panel's report against the work of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission as well as to take further steps to ensure that the LLRC's work conforms to international standards. Australia will closely examine the LLRC report, due in November 2011, as will the international community, before considering whether further options should be pursued, including in the UN Human Rights Council.

Question put:

That the motion (Senator Rhiannon's) be agreed to.

The Senate divided. [13:35]

(The President—Senator JJ Hogg)

Question negatived.