UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay Sets a March 2014 Deadline for the Sri Lankan Govt Wed Sep 25,2013

In a report issued at the 24th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday Sep 25,2013 the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said she has seen no new or comprehensive Sri Lankan effort to properly and independently investigate the allegations of war crimes and other abuses during the civil conflict

The U.N.’s 47-Nation Human Rights Council has repeatedly demanded such an investigation, and Ms. Pillay said she would recommend that the council establish its own probe if Sri Lanka does not show more “credible” progress by March 2014,failing which,the international community would establish its own inquiry mechanisms

In March 2014, the High Commissioner will submit her comprehensive report with recommendations at the 25th session of the Human Rights Council.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday Sep 24,2013 complained of a “growing trend” of interference in the internal matters of developing countries on the pretext of security and human rights

At the United Nations in New York,Australia and Britain said there remain important concerns about human rights and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, but also noted areas of progress.