The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Having before it the case of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, assassinated on 24 December 2005, which has been the subject of a study and report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians following the Procedure for the Treatment by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of Communications concerning Violations of the Human Rights of Members of Parliament,

Taking note of the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which contains a detailed outline of the case (CL/178/12(b)-R.1),

Considering that Mr. Pararajasingham, killed at the age of 71, was a member of parliament for Batticaloa district, the leader in Parliament of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and executive member of the Commonwealth and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Parliamentary Association, that he was a well-known human rights advocate, documenting and exposing human rights violations in the north-eastern part of Sri Lanka in national and international forums, and that he was dedicated to a peaceful negotiated settlement of the longstanding ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka,

Considering the following evidence on file concerning the circumstances of and the investigation into Mr. Pararajasingham’s murder:

• At a meeting of TNA parliamentarians with President Mahinda Rajapakse and top military leaders on 21 December 2005, Mr. Pararajasingham, who, owing to the many threats he had received, was living in Colombo, was encouraged to visit his home town of Batticaloa;

• On 24 December 2005, Mr. Pararajasingham and his wife attended the Christmas Eve midnight mass in St. Mary's Cathedral in Batticaloa. After receiving communion, Mr. Pararajasingham was shot dead by gunmen inside the Cathedral, in the presence of some 300 persons. His wife was also struck by two bullets and taken to hospital in critical condition. According to the sources, because of the nearby military camp, St. Mary's Cathedral is located in a high-security zone, between two military checkpoints. At the time of the murder, additional security forces were on duty and the Cathedral was reportedly surrounded by military personnel, which means that the culprits could only have escaped with the complicity of the security forces;

• The Government reportedly stated the following day that the murder had been committed by Tamils. The Central Investigation Department has initiated an inquiry which has revealed that the two assailants used automatic weapons. The empty casings were sent to the Government Analyst for examination. One eyewitness has been traced who gave a detailed description of a suspect responsible for the shooting. According to the authorities, his image was subsequently published in the form of an identikit likeness in all newspapers, requesting the public’s assistance. The authorities affirm that inquiries in this connection are in progress. According to the source, the image in question, a hand-drawn sketch by the eyewitness, only appeared in one Colombo newspaper, namely The Island, reportedly well known for its racist views. According to the source, soon after the assassination, Mr. Pararajasingham's family and other TNA parliamentarians handed over to President Rajapakse the names of three suspects. No action has been taken against these persons, who are reportedly still moving freely around the Batticaloa area,

Considering that in an article published on 22 January 2006 in the Sri Lankan Sunday Leader, President Rajapakse was quoted as having told TNA parliamentarians that Mr. Pararajasingham could not have been assassinated without the complicity of the security forces,

Considering further that on 7 April 2006 Mr. Vanniasingam Vigneswaran, the person who was intended to replace Mr. Pararajasingham as member of parliament, was also assassinated; moreover, in recent years many human rights advocates have been killed in Sri Lanka and those killings have remained unpunished to date; and noting also that, following Mr. Pararajasingham's murder, three TNA members of parliament have reportedly left the country,

Bearing in mind that Sri Lanka is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is thus bound to guarantee the right to life, which entails the obligation for the State to conduct a diligent, effective and thorough investigation into any murder in order to identify the culprits and bring them to justice,

1. Is shocked at the murder of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, which it strongly condemns;

2. Is alarmed that such a crime could be committed in a high-security zone with the abundant presence of security forces;

3. Consequently expresses concern that, four months after the murder, scant progress has been made in the investigation, particularly since the murder was committed in the presence of more than 300 persons and information which might lead to the identification of Mr. Pararajasingham's murderers exists and has been provided to the authorities;

4. Stresses that the authorities have a duty to conduct a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into Mr. Pararajasingham's murder in order to identify those responsible for this crime and to punish them in accordance with the law; and wishes to be kept informed of progress made in the investigation;

5. Recalls that impunity is a grave breach of human rights and of the rule of law, since it encourages the repetition of crime, as amply demonstrated by the situation in Sri Lanka; and affirms that strong action to combat impunity is a prerequisite for lasting peace and reconciliation;

6. Is deeply concerned at the potential effect of the murder of Mr. Pararajasingham on the exercise of freedom of expression in parliament, as it may deter any parliamentarian from speaking out on human rights violations and from defending minority rights; and wishes to ascertain what measures have been taken to guarantee that they may express themselves freely and without fear;

7. Affirms that the murder of a parliamentarian stands as a threat to all members of the parliament in question and to the institution of parliament, and ultimately to the people whom it represents; and that Parliament should therefore avail itself of its oversight function to ensure that the competent authorities comply with their duty to conduct full and effective investigations to identify and prosecute those responsible for Mr. Pararajasingham's murder, and thus to prevent any repetition of such crimes; and would appreciate receiving information on any steps taken in this regard;

8. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to President Rajapakse, to the parliamentary and competent authorities, and to the source;

9. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held during the 115th IPU Assembly (October 2006).

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