Responding to the latest report on Sri Lanka by the UN High Commissioner, Human Rights Watch has raised concern over the “disturbing development under the Rajapaksa administration” and spoke out against the country’s “egregious record of complete impunity for appalling crimes”.

In their statement they maintain the need for international pressure stating:

Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary claimed that the Core Group at the UN Human Rights Council “has indicated to us that they would like to have a consensual resolution that would give us another year to implement Human Rights commitments,” despite overwhelming calls for an international accountability mechanism to be mandated.

Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused defence secretary has denied all reports of war crimes committed by the armed forces during a 2009 offensive in which he played a leading role, as he revealed he “was in this whole scenario right from the start”.

In a joint statement UN Special Rapporteurs Ahmed Shaheed, Fernand de Varennes, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule and Tlaleng Mofokeng, have condemned Sri Lanka’s practice of forced cremations warning that it “ran the risk of increasing prejudice, intolerance and violence”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary, Admiral Jayanath Colombage, has responded to criticism denying that policy was discriminatory stating:

Responding to the latest UN human rights report on Sri Lanka, Amnesty International has demanded the Core Group (consisting of Canada, Germany, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the UK) present a “meaningful proposal” that ensures accountability for Sri Lankan war crimes.

Commenting on the situation David Griffiths, Director of the Office of the Secretary-General at Amnesty International stated:

Responding to the UN human rights chief's report on Sri Lanka, representatives from the US, Canada, UK and Germany have renewed their commitment to human rights and accountability on the island, with calls for accountability and sanctions. on officials implicated in war crimes.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, alongside the Federal Liberal Caucus, held a virtual Thai Pongal and Tamil Heritage month celebration, showing their gratitude for Tamil frontline and essential workers on Thursday. 

A report by the United Nations human rights chief warns of the “seeds of future violence and conflict” in Sri Lanka, as she called for member states to consider “asset freezes and travel bans” on Sri Lankan officials accused of human rights abuses.

Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary has slammed a UN report just hours after it has been released, labelling it “unsubstantiated” and rejected calls for an international accountability mechanism for war crimes.

The European Union (EU) received criticism after a meeting with Sri Lankan officials where it stated that trade concession would continue and referred to the Office on Missing Persons, the Office for Reparations and the Human Rights Commission in Sri Lanka as “independent institutions”, despite officials in these bodies being directly nominated and appointed by the president.