The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is currently creating a “centralised repository” of material that could be used to prosecute war crimes suspects, according to a report in the BBC this week.
Rory Mungoven, Asia-Pacific chief at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the BBC, that further to a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability in Sri Lanka, his office was already collecting material.
"The initial step is to create a centralised repository for the wide array of material that is available, including that collected by the UN over the years, which is substantial," Mungoven said.
"We are analysing all the material and pinpointing particular cases, particular perpetrators where further action may be possible."
The BBC went on to state that “the intention is that material gathered could be used to try war crimes suspects outside the island under the principle of "universal jurisdiction"”.
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Last month, the UN High Commissioner expressed concern over the lack of accountability for human rights violations committed by Sri Lanka and renewed her call to member states to use universal jurisdictions and targeted sanctions against alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses.
Resolution 46/1 passed by the UN Human Rights Council last year, mandates the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to "collect" as well as "consolidate, analyse and preserve” evidence that could be used in future war crimes trials.
