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UN Human Rights chief to visit Sri Lanka in Feb

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein will visit Sri Lanka in February, announced the Resident Coordinator of United Nations in Sri Lanka.

The Resident Coordinator of United Nations in Sri Lanka Subinay Nandy announced that he is leaving the island to take up his next assignment in New York, but added, "I am not saying good-byes right away since I shall be back to Sri Lanka accompanying UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Al Hussein in his next month's visit to Colombo".

The High Commissioner's visit will focus particularly on the issue of IDPs said Mr Nandy, who added, “He is also pleased with Sri Lanka’s present leadership and their commitment towards the minorities”.

Last year, the UN chief’s office released a report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) which recommended “the establishment of an ad hoc hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, mandated to try notably war crimes and crimes against humanity, with its own independent investigative and prosecuting organ, defence office and witness and victims protections programme".

He had reiterated the call for “strong international involvement” several times, stating,

“One needs to state that a truth and reconciliation commission, the existence of it were it to be set up, will not negate the need to have an accountability mechanism, to have justice done in the form of accountability and redress judicially.”

“On the basis of what we have seen, so massive have been the crimes, so many have been the families that have suffered that there needs to be judicial redress, there has to be accountability in the form of court cases that will punish the guilty... We are not talking about one or the other here.”

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