UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka accountability issue commences

The Panel of Experts appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commenced its work officially after a meeting with the UN Chief Thursday (16).

The UN said the Secretary-General held his first meeting Thursday with the Panel of Experts established to advise him on the issue of accountability with regard to alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka.
The UN Chief met the members of the panel led by Indonesia's former Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, South Africa's Yasmin Sooka and Steven Ratner of the United States yesterday at UN Headquarters in New York.
The meeting marks the formal commencement of the Panel's four-month mandate.
A UN statement said the Secretary-General is pleased that the Panel is fully underway and looks forward to receiving its advice.

"The Secretary-General is committed through his focus on this issue to contribute to lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka," it added.

The final report of the Panel of Experts, which is expected four months after commencing official sessions, is expected to advise the UN Secretary-General on the implementation of the commitment to human rights accountability as agreed by the Sri Lankan Government in 2009.

Sri Lanka vehemently opposed the appointment of the panel saying that it is unnecessary and unwarranted as the government has already set in motion a mechanism to probe the events took place during a seven-year period prior to the conclusion of the war.

Sri Lanka wiped out the separatist Tamil Tiger rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and ended the thirty-year long armed conflict in May 2009.

The UN has stressed that the panel is not an investigative body but an advisory panel to advise the Secretary-General and the members do not need to go to Sri Lanka for their activities. However, the panel members have expressed a different view saying that it will be harder for them to learn the truth if they are denied entry.

Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris however, has said that the panel members will not be allowed to enter the country for any investigations.