Presenting her report to the annual session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay criticised Sri Lanka for failing to examine abuses committed during the civil war last year between the government forces and Tamil Tigers.
Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka are damaging prospects for reconciliation after 25 years of civil war, Pillay, a former UN war crimes judge, told the council.
“In Sri Lanka, the opportunity for peace and reconciliation continues to be marred by the treatment of journalists, human rights defenders and other critics of government”
Repeating her call for an independent investigation into war crimes allegations in Sri Lanka, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the U.N.'s Human Rights Council she was singling out outstanding cases in different countries.
"I am convinced that Sri Lanka should undertake a full reckoning of the grave violations committed by all sides during the war, and that the international community can be helpful in this regard," she said in a speech presenting her annual report.
Her comments on Sri Lanka and other states will reassure critics of the council who argue that the 47-member body often fails to deal with human rights violations as countries unite in regional alliances to shield each other from scrutiny.
Last May, the council held a special session on Sri Lanka just after the end of the war against the Tamil Tigers, but the government deflected criticism by introducing its own resolution praising its defeat of the separatist group, which was then passed.
Sri Lanka government maintains that there were no war crimes committed and says it will not allow any international investigations.
In an earlier interview with the BBC, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said he would not allow any such investigation as “there is no reason.”
