U.N. Official Calls for Probe of Sri Lanka War Crimes

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said both sides in Sri Lanka’s civil war “grossly disregarded the fundamental principle of the inviolability of civilians.” She has called for an “independent and credible international investigation,” although she’s up against the notoriously impotent U.N. Human Rights Council and a bristling Sri Lankan government.

BBC:

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the UN, Dayan Jayatilleka, said it was “outrageous” to suggest that the government should be investigated.

The country’s resolution has been supported by India, whose representative to the council said his country had “serious reservations about the objectives and usefulness” of the session.

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Flickr / Foreign and Commonwealth Office

As many as 300,000 people are held in Sri Lanka’s internally displaced persons camps, where the government has strictly limited media and aid worker access.