The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said today that it was the job of the United Nations and its bodies to seek accountability and victims are served justice.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Pillay also said that she was disappointed at the amount of countries that abstained and voted against the resolution, but added that it was the responsibility of the international community to protect people if the government fails to do so.
"In this case the Human Rights Council and the United Nations, the Secretary General waited almost 5 years for Sri Lanka to take internal action hold an investigation and render justice for victims," Pillay said.
"I’m now entrusted to be in charge of the investigation, and I will definitely seek the cooperation of the Sri Lankan government. They were very good during my visit to Sri Lanka. There is political will there to address the situations."
"I’m disappointed that there were so many abstentions and 12 no votes. It’s the Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights Council that establishes Commissions of Inquiries. Nobody is targeting Sri Lanka here. Commissions of Inquiry were appointed in respect of Palestine, in respect of Syria and more recently the Central African Republic. The African Union established one for South Sudan. So these are the usual mechanisms employed by the international organisations, the United Nations and it various bodies, for victims to get protection of human rights, to seek accountability and to ensure victims get the justice they are seeking."