Sri Lanka has lashed out at the United Nations secretary general’s rare decision to appoint a three-member panel to look into alleged war crimes committed in Sri Lanka as the 26-year-old civil unrest came to an end in May last year.
On Tuesday, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon appointed Indonesia’s Marzuki Darusman, South African Yasmin Sooka and Steven Ratner from the US to “advise him on the issue of accountability with regard to any alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka.’’
The reaction from the Lankan government — which has denied targeting civilians — was immediate and angry.
“Sri Lanka regards the appointment of the Sri Lanka Panel of Experts as an unwarranted and unnecessary interference with a sovereign nation,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The recommendations of the panel, expected to be submitted to Ban Ki-moon in four months, will not be binding as the issue of rights violation in Sri Lanka was not made part of the United Nations Security Council’s agenda.
Also, the panel is likely to have a tough job carrying out investigations on ground as the government might deny the members visa to enter Sri Lanka.
{{/usCountry}}Also, the panel is likely to have a tough job carrying out investigations on ground as the government might deny the members visa to enter Sri Lanka.
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