Foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera is scheduled participate in a high level UN Human Rights Council session tomorrow.
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“The Government of Sri Lanka recognizes fully that the process of reconciliation involves fully the broad areas of truth-seeking, justice, reparations and non-recurrence, and for non-recurrence to become truly meaningful, the necessity of reaching a political settlement that addresses the grievances of the Tamil people”.
The Council needs to consider what steps should be taken to ensure justice and end impunity in Sri Lanka.
The Hindu quoted sources saying that Sri Lanka has five days to make its response in writing.
The OHCHR was mandated in March 2014 to investigate allegations of war crimes and violations of human rights at the peak and the final stages of civil war in 2009 committed by both parties in Sri Lanka.
The foreign minister would also meet UN Human Rights Commissioner Seid Rad Al Hussein today.
Speaking at the opening session of the 30th UN Human Rights Council session a short while ago Prince Zeid said he will present his recommendations with the report.
“Its findings are of the most serious nature”, the UNHRC chief said.
“I welcome the vision shown by President Sirisena since his election in January 2015, and the commitments made by the new Government under his leadership”.
The Rajapaksa administration resisted the investigation dubbing it an impingement on the country’s sovereignty.
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A lawyer’s team from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), headed by M.A.Sumanthiran, is also in Geneva lobbying with the 47 UNHRC member countries for an internationally staffed and directed mechanism to monitor the proposed Lankan domestic probe into charges of war crimes. The Sirisena government, however, engaged the United Nations and the larger worldwide community in contrast to the Rajapaksa administration and sought to address some of the concerns of the Tamil minority.
