OIC raises Sri Lanka cremation issue at UNHRC; urges swift action
COLOMBO – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) raised the issue of Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 cremations at the 46th United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Tuesday (23)..
Speaking at the sixth meeting of the high level segment, OIC Secretary General Yousef Al Othaimeen said the OIC is “concerned with the situation of Muslims in Sri Lanka as they are denied the right to be buried.”
Calling for the Government of Sri Lanka to allow Muslims to bury Muslims who die of COVID-19 to according Islamic rites while adhering to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, Al Othaimeen urged the Government of Sri Lanka to take swift action to guarantee and respect the rights of the country’s Muslim community.
The OIC had last expressed its concern over the burial issue in December last year. The organization, which has long maintained friendly relations with Sri Lanka, also wrote to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in May last year regarding the issue.
The OIC, which comprises 57 member states with a collective population of over 1.8 billion as of 2015, refers to itself as the collective voice of the Muslim world and has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.
Sri Lanka’s refusal to allow the burials of COVID-19 victims has been controversial both locally and internationally. The government recently back-tracked on an assurance provided by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament, claiming that a decision on allowing burials will depend on the recommendations of an expert committee.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan who is currently on a two-day official visit in Sri Lanka had also welcomed Rajapaksa’s statement. It is unclear at present whether he raised the matter in his talks with Sri Lanka’s leaders.
A protest was organized in Colombo on Tuesday coinciding with Khan’s arrival to draw the visiting PM’s attention to the issue. According to Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader MP Rauff Hakeem, the Pakistan Prime Minister has agreed to meet Sri Lanka’s Muslim MPs before he departs the country Wednesday (24).
-economynext.com