The international community must stay “fully engaged” on Sri Lanka to ensure all aspects of a UN resolution are fully implemented said the Global Tamil Forum, in a statement released on Wednesday.

“Sri Lanka has time and time again shown it is both unwilling and unable to investigate allegations of war crimes against its own forces or hold perpetrators of grave abuses to account,” said the statement.

Noting that Sri Lanka had agreed to a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in September last year, the GTF stated that “it appears the government is now trying to back away from this commitment”.

“Given the history of failures of Government Commissions and judicial processes, international participation as specified in the resolution is a must to guarantee the credibility and effectiveness of the Special Court,” it added. “GTF therefore calls upon the Council Members and the High Commissioner of the UNHRC to urge the Sri Lankan government not to renege on this all important commitment to the UN.”

The Sri Lankan military organised a two day workshop on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in the Tamil North-East earlier this month.

Victim consultation and international participation are crucial to achieve accountability and a sustainable peace, according to NGO Pasumai Thaayagam.

Speaking at the 32nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, a representative urged the council to "remain persistent" in encouraging the implementation of the resolution on Sri Lanka, passed in October last year.

"While the Sri Lankan government has made some strides in the right direction, we remain concerned with government statements and messages contrary to commitments made by the government," Pasumai Thaayagam said.

"There is increasing fear amongst Tamils that the current progress on the government's pledges, such as the establishing the Office of Missing Persons, is designed to alleviate international pressure rather than genuinely address concerns. Such fears are exacerbated by the government's lack of transparency and lack of consultations with the victim community in establishing such mechanisms."

The former head of Sri Lanka’s army Sarath Fonseka has been denied a visa to enter the United States, reports the Daily Mirror.

Diplomatic sources were quoted as stating “incidents that happened when he held the post of Army Commander might have resulted in the rejection process,” though this has been denied by his media secretary.

Mr Fonseka, who oversaw the final phase of the armed conflict on the island where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were massacred, was promoted to become Sri Lanka’s only five star general and the by Regional Development Minister by the current Sri Lankan government.

In December 2015 the former army general was previously denied entry to the US, reportedly over his role in overseeing war crimes.

Swiss Tamils were joined by Tamils from France, Germany and the UK at a rally outside the UN Human Rights Council today, calling for justice to be served through an international accountability mechanism.