“Actual steps, including accountability, are needed to address serious crimes and human rights abuses in Sri Lanka,” said the US State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice this week, following a meeting with Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Washington.
Ambassador Michael Kozak, a senior official at the Office of Global Criminal Justice, met with Mahinda Samarasinghe this week, where the two reportedly discussed “the importance of justice and accountability for long term peace, prosperity and reconciliation”.
The meeting comes just days after the United States announced a new set of travel bans on two Sri Lankan soldiers accused of rights violations. The latest visa restrictions come as the head of the Sri Lankan military remains barred from entry to the USA over his role in the execution of Tamils in 2009.
Following the meeting, the Office of Global Criminal Justice tweeted that “actual steps, including accountability” were needed.
Amb Kozak and Sri Lankan Amb Samarasinghe met last week to discuss the importance of justice and accountability for long term peace, prosperity and reconciliation. Actual steps, including accountability, are needed to address serious crimes and human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
— State Department GCJ (@StateDept_GCJ) December 22, 2021
The meeting with the Sri Lankan ambassador also comes after Office of Global Criminal Justice met with a Tamil delegation in Washington.
Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United States, Mahinda Samarasinghe, is known to be a staunch defender of the Rajapaksa regime and has frequently denied that war crimes or other rights violations have taken place.
See more in our feature: Defender of the Rajapaksa regime - Sri Lanka's new ambassador to USA
