UN Chief appoints experts panel on Sri Lanka

New York: The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday appointed a three-member expert panel to advise him on Sri Lanka's accountability issues regarding any alleged violations of human rights and humanitarian law during the last stage of the three-decade long conflict.


The panel is chaired by Marzuki Darusman, a former Attorney General of Indonesia. Ms. Yasmin Sooka, a member of the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 1995-1998 and Steven Ratner of US, a Professor of International Law at Univeristy of Michigan are the other two members of the panel.

Issuing a statement today the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General said the Panel will advise the UN Chief on the implementation of the commitment on human rights accountability made in the Joint Statement issued by him with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his visit to Sri Lanka in May 2009.

"It will look into the modalities, applicable international standards and comparative experience with regard to accountability processes, taking into account the nature and scope of any alleged violations in Sri Lanka," the statement said.

"It will be available as a resource to Sri Lankan authorities should they wish to avail themselves of its expertise in implementing the commitment," it added.

Sri Lanka vehemently opposed the idea of appointing an expert panel to advise the UN Chief saying that the allegations are an internal matter and the government has already set in motion a mechanism to address the accountability issues.

Sri Lanka President last month appointed an eight-member 'Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission' to report on the lessons to be learnt from the events in the period between 21st February 2002 to 19th May 2009.

UN Secretary-General's Panel, in the conduct of its mandate, hopes to cooperate with concerned officials in Sri Lanka. It is expected to complete its advisory responsibilities within four months of the commencement of its work, the spokesman to the UN Chief said.

"The Secretary-General remains convinced that accountability is an essential foundation for durable peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Through the Panel the Secretary General expects to enable the United Nations to make a constructive contribution in this regard," the statement emphasized.

The UN has come under pressure from Western nations, mainly the United State, Britain and European Union to look into the alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan forces during the last stages of the bloody conflict between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.