Rights group urges US, other countries to support UN rights panel on Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka — An international human rights group has urged the United States and other countries to support a U.N. panel investigating alleged rights abuses in Sri Lanka's civil war, saying the country has failed to deliver justice to war crime victims.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said the "support of the U.S. and other governments for the U.N. Panel of Experts and the implementation of its recommendations is crucial."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June appointed a three-member panel to advise him on ensuring accountability for the alleged abuses during Sri Lanka's war. Sri Lanka has opposed it.
The United Nations says at least 7,000 civilians were killed in the last five months before the war ended in May 2009 when government forces finally crushed ethnic Tamil rebels. They had been fighting for an independent state for a quarter-century, after decades of discrimination by the Sinhalese majority. The U.N. says between 80,000 and 100,000 people were killed during the war.
Human Rights Watch, referring to a U.S. State Department report released this week, said that "Sri Lanka has not yet conducted an effective investigation into laws-of-war violations" by government troops and Tamil rebels.
"The State Department report shows that countries should be looking toward the U.N. to see justice done in Sri Lanka," said James Ross, the group's legal and policy director, in a statement issued Wednesday night.
The report to the U.S. Congress was issued by the department's Office of War Crimes, evaluating steps taken by the Sri Lankan government and international bodies in investigating incidents during the Sri Lankan conflict.
Amid growing international criticism for not examining alleged rights during the civil war, Sri Lanka in May appointed the "Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission," which began public hearings on Wednesday.
Human rights groups say the commission is aimed at deflecting calls for an international probe of alleged war crimes, including government shelling of civilians and other issues.
The Elders, a group of eminent global figures led by archbishop Desmond Tutu, have also expressed doubts over the credibility of the government commission.
In a statement last week, Tutu said "previous internal commissions have done little to reveal the truth behind human rights abuses" and that it is "doubtful" the new commission would "help Sri Lankans to work toward lasting peace and reconciliation."
The group also includes former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, former Finland president Martti Athisaari and former Irish president Mary Robinson.