War crimes investigators from the United Nations have vowed to take action over crimes in the country and to bring perpetrators to justice, according to the UN’s former war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte.
Del Ponte, who has joined a UN team investigating and compiling evidence of human rights abuses and war crimes in Syria, told reporters,
"My main task will be to continue the inquiry in the direction of determining the high-ranking political and military authorities responsible for these crimes."
"We don't know yet whether it will be an international court or a national court or what. Our task is to carry out this investigation to gather evidence and it will be up to the U.N. Human Rights Council or Security Council to decide,"
When asked about similarities with past investigations Del Ponte added,
"The similarity is of course we are handling the same crimes, crimes against humanity and war crimes for sure."
In their last report in August, UN investigators drew up a list of individuals who were suspected of committing crimes, with a view of future prosecution procedures taking place against them.
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.
