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UN Envoy Sees Evidence of Serious International Crime in Sri Lanka Video June 7th, 2011

Since late last year, the United Nations has closely studied the video that allegedly showed acts committed during the civil war that ended in 2009. “I conclude on the basis of the extensive technical evidence we obtained from independent experts that what is depicted in the video indeed happened,” Mr. Heyns told the Human Rights Council in Geneva, adding that “I believe that a prima facie case of serious international crimes has been made.” He said an international panel should investigate the evidence.

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UN Report on Sri Lanka War Crimes Released April 26th, 2011

The panel of experts set up to advise Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on accountability issues with respect to the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka has found credible reports of war crimes committed by both the Government and Tamil rebels and calls for genuine investigations into the allegations, according to a report released in full by the Secretary General yesterday.

According to a statement released by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

“The United Nations has today made public the advisory report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on accountability with respect to the final stages of the decades-long armed conflict in Sri Lanka, which was submitted to him on 12 April 2011. The decision to release the report was made as a matter of transparency and in the broader public interest.”

“The report was shared in its entirety with the Government of Sri Lanka on 12 April. The Secretary-General has indicated his willingness to publicize the Government’s response alongside the report. This invitation was extended to the Sri Lankan Government throughout the week, including again on Saturday by the Secretary-General to the External Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka. The Government has not responded to this offer, which nonetheless still stands.”

Read the full report…

Human Rights Groups Urge Investigation of Sri Lanka War Crimes May 21st, 2010

Human Rights groups, from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to the International Crisis Group, are calling for an independent investigation into war crimes by both sides during the traumatic end of the war between the LTTE and government forces one year ago.

In a report released on May 17th, a year after the war’s end, the International Crisis Group cited “reasonable grounds to believe the Sri Lankan security forces committed war crimes” by intentionally shelling civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations in a final push to destroy the separatist Tigers. In turn, the Tigers reportedly shot civilians who tried to flee rebel areas and held others captive in a bid to raise international pressure for a ceasefire.

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Sri Lanka War Crimes Report Released October 30th, 2009

The US State Department released its Report to Congress on Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka on October 22. The report details violations of the laws of war committed by both government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from January through May 2009.

The report is a sobering chronicle of the horrors of war and points to the need for a more thorough independent, international investigation.

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