The Sri Lankan Government has rejected a UN report on human rights violations, claiming the report was “beyond their scope” and the content was “malicious,” a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.
Minister Udaya Gammanpila, reacting to a report compiled by the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, said Sri Lanka’s detailed response will be made public at the human rights sessions in Geneva later this month.
“The government decided to reject the report as it has been prepared in violation of mandates given to the UN Human Rights Council,’’ Gammanpila said.
The UN report released on Jan. 27 warned that the failure of Sri Lanka to address past violations has significantly heightened the risk of human rights violations being repeated.
The Sri Lankan government had made no public statement since the report was released by the UN until Gammanpila made his views public at a news conference.
The UN has repeatedly called for a credible investigation into the allegations of war crimes during the final stages of a conflict with the Tamil rebels which ended in the northern part of the country in 2009.
The UN report said it was concerned about the appointment of senior military officials who were implicated in UN reports on alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the final years of the conflict.
Tamil politicians on Wednesday held a protest in the eastern province demanding the government investigates alleged war crimes as demanded by the UN. (dpa/NAN)
