The European Union Parliament has passed a resolution stating that the United Nations should initiate an international investigation into allegations of violations of international humanitarian law, if Sri Lanka fails to start one itself, before March 2014.
Passed on Thursday, the resolution called for,
"an independent and credible investigation into alleged violations by March 2014, and considers that otherwise the UN should initiate an international investigation".
The resolution also "notes with concern", the presence of Sri Lankan armed forces in the island's former conflict areas, adding that it was "leading to human rights violations including land grabbing... and worrying numbers of reported sexual assaults".
Also noted was the killings of 5 youth in Trincomalee in 2006 and the massacre of 17 Tamil aid workers for the French Charity ACF, who recently blamed the killings on government forces.
The resolution went on to call on the UN and its member states,
"to analyse carefully the failures of the international community in Sri Lanka and to take adequate measures to ensure that, if confronted with a similar situation in the future, the UN will be able to meet much higher standards in terms of fulfilling its protection and humanitarian responsibilities".
See the full text of the resolution here. (page 264)
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