US welcomes Sri Lanka rights probe panel
June 26, 2014 08:25 am
The
US has welcomed the United Nations’ announcement of experts, who will advise
the team probing the alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the
last months of civil war in 2009.
“The
US welcomes UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s announcement of
the distinguished experts who will advise the panel conducting the
international investigation into the alleged human rights violations and
related crimes in Sri Lanka, as called for in the March 2014 Human Rights
Council resolution on Sri Lanka,” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said
yesterday.
Urging
the Lankan government for its full cooperation with the Office of High
Commissioner and investigation, Harf said: “We continue to urge the Government
(of Sri Lanka) to fulfill its obligations to its own people and to take
meaningful, concrete steps to address outstanding concerns related to
democratic governance, human rights, reconciliation, justice, and accountability.”
The
United States stands ready to assist Sri Lanka in facilitating progress on
these issues, she assured.
The
UN has named three experts- Martti Ahtisaari, Nobel Laureate and former
President of Finland, Silvia Cartwright, a former Governor-General and High
Court judge of New Zealand, and Asma Jahangir, former President of Pakistan’s
Supreme Court Bar Association and of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,
PTI reports.
