[ HRW ]

The United Nations Human Rights Council on May 27 passed a deeply flawed resolution on Sri Lanka that ignores calls for an international investigation into alleged abuses during recent fighting and other pressing human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. The council held a special session on May 26 and 27, 2009, on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, a week after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by government forces. “The Human Rights Council did not even express its concern for the hundreds of thousands of people facing indefinite detention in government camps,” said Juliette de Rivero, Geneva advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The council ignored urgent needs and wasted an important chance to promote human rights.”

[ Reuters ]

The United Nations’ refugee chief called on Tuesday for an international investigation to determine if Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil rebels had committed war crimes. Ensuring accountability for abuses committed in the recent fighting was important for the island nation’s national reconciliation, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said.

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