Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Navi Pillay raises concerns over General Silva at UN

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, raised concerns regarding the appointment of General Shavendra Silva as sri Lanka's deputy permanent representative to the UN, in a letter to the UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon.

Speaking to journalists after the UN General Assembly meeting on Monday, Pillay said,

"It's a matter of concern,"

"The United Nations has very clear policies on vetting and this is part of the work that my office does.

"We keep a list of individuals who are suspected of committing human rights violations and I have addressed a letter of concern to the secretary-general about this individual."

Shavendra Silva was appointed to the UN Special Advisory Group on Peacekeeping early this year.

A coalition of human rights groups condemned the appointment as "outrageous on many levels".

In November of last year, ten international human rights organisations, including those mentioned above, urged the UN to suspend the diplomatic credentials of Silva as Sri Lanka's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.