Farhan Haq, the Acting Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that theThe United Nations (UN) has reiterated there needs to be accountability in Sri Lanka over the alleged incidents which took place during final stages of the war. This was stated by him at the UN Daily Press Briefing today answering questions from Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press.
Question: And I also… on reports. I wanted to know whether the Secretariat has seen this report out of a human rights group in Australia, essentially saying that during the Sri Lanka event, in the final stages of the conflict, that there was a destruction and concealment of mass graves and also that its been… on a list of countries in which mass atrocities are still quite possible. I wanted to know, given the Secretariat’s interest in 2009 and this Rights Up Front project, what’s the response to this new study?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson: We’ve made it clear that there needs to be more done to get at the heart of what happened in Sri Lanka. You’ve seen what the Secretary-General’s reports on the situation have said and it’s clear that there continues to be a need for all the facts to be learned and for there to be a study of whether there’s any wrongdoing that’s occurred in the course of the final phases of the Sri Lankan conflict. The Secretary-General has said that repeatedly and we continue to hold by that.
Question: An international process? Just one follow-up, because it’s been a number of years now: Is a national process still credible or should it be done in Geneva?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson: Ultimately, it’s up to different Member States to determine whether there will be an international process. We have presented information to them and we’ve made clear what we believe is the need for accountability and we rely on the Member States’ judgement to follow through. Yes?
– Eye Sri Lanka