Lanka Govt. To counter UN probe on alleged civil war atrocities

Sri Lanka has decided that it will not cooperate with an ongoing UN investigation into alleged atrocities committed during the war against the LTTE, but rather present its defence on the issue before the 27th UN human rights session in Geneva on September 24.

The Island newspaper quoted a senior unnamed government official, as saying that Sri Lanka would receive an advance copy of an oral statement scheduled to be made by United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein to enable the government to comment on it.

Responding to a query, the official said that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights would probably make available the document to Sri Lanka about 24 hours before the scheduled delivery of the statement.

The investigation team consisting of investigators, forensic experts, a gender specialist, a legal analyst, and other specialised staff is led by UN staffer Ms Sandra Beidas, formerly of the Amnesty International.