02 May 2011
Martin Nesirky, the Spokesperson for the UN chief said Friday the United Nations has not seen an official response from the Government of Sri Lanka.
While the United Nations is yet to receive a formal response from Sri Lanka on the report submitted to the UN Secretary-General by the Panel of Experts appointed by him to advise on the accountability of Sri Lanka during the last stages of war, the UN chief has asked the member states to give serious consideration to the report.
Martin Nesirky, the Spokesperson for the UN chief said Friday the United Nations has not seen an official response from the Government of Sri Lanka.
“We have not received an official response. We have, of course, seen what’s played out in the public domain,” he said when asked whether the Sri Lankan government responded to the report.
He said the UN is waiting for a formal response from the Government, as it made clear in the UN chief’s earlier statement issued when the report was made public on April 25.
Nesirky reiterated that the UN would require Host Country consent or a mandate from an intergovernmental body to appoint an international body to investigate the allegations in the report.
However, he said the Secretary-General expects the member states to look at the report which is in the public domain and take it seriously.
“All Member States, whether they are in the Security Council, whether they are in the Human Rights Council, and obviously by definition, in the General Assembly, have access to it (the report). And the Secretary-General has publicly said that he is sure that all Member States will take that report seriously and act accordingly, draw the necessary conclusions,” Nesirky said.