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Human Rights Crisis Continues, not 'Business as Usual'

August 10, 2009

You have long been admired as a world leader for the numerous charitable activities of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Among the achievements of this esteemed establishment is its support of global health-the foundation has been fundamental in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Japanese encephalitis, polio, tuberculosis, and several other infectious diseases. The organization's work with the Rockefeller Foundation, Indian tsunami victims, and numerous scholarships illustrates the gamut of commendable areas your institution has been instrumental in serving.

This aside, another looming goal of the B&MGF is to increase access to information technology in impoverished countries. Although this is yet another admirable pursuit, the business you have decided to carry out in Sri Lanka is deeply concerning to human rights activists. Sri Lanka has been enmeshed in a human rights and humanitarian crisis for decades; in the first 6 months of this year, CNN reported that over 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed as the government pursued an intense military offensive. Currently, over 280,000 Tamil refugees are trapped in internment camps in the north, without full access to aid agencies, journalists or human rights monitors. Despite this situation, several articles quote your enthusiasm for negotiations with President Rajapaksa and his government to further economic growth in the country. Unfortunately, any profits made from these technological innovations will likely be exploited by the government for the continuation of its internment camps.

The UK Times has reported that up to 1,400 Tamil refugees are being killed each week in one camp alone. According to MSNBC, no one is allowed to leave the camps and few are permitted entrance, causing aid workers concern over the camps' true purpose. An MSNBC article quoted one Western diplomat as describing the camps as "at best...at the edge of all kinds of international principles...but more likely...illegal."Furthermore, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, which includes Amnesty International USA, depicted the military-controlled internment camps as having 80,000 children, many of whom are being abducted for ransom, possibly for government supported armed groups.

We are pleading with you to reconsider your investments in Sri Lanka. The human rights community and Tamils all over the world are deeply concerned about the ultimate use of funds given to government of Sri Lanka. While technology transfer is important, blanket support should not be given to governments who do not respect the rule of law and basic human rights. We urge you to hear the cries of voiceless Tamils, and avoid doing business with regimes as egregious as Sri Lanka's.