Reporters San Frontieres called on member states at the 19th UN Human Rights Council to pass a resolution condemning the Sri Lankan government's "violations of freedom of information and to demand an end to threats and violence against news media and human rights defenders in Sri Lanka".

In a statement released Tuesday, RSF condemned the Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS) on Tamilnet.com, as well as a number of Sri Lankan news organisations.

RSF said:

“For more than a year we have been seeing new forms of censorship and a deterioration in journalists’ ability to work although the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officially ended in 2009,”

“Rather than wait until the Universal Periodic Review to make recommendations, the Human Rights Council’s members should adopt a resolution now urging the government to take measures to improve freedom of information.

Writing in the Guardian, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Irish President Mary Robinson, members of The Elders, global leaders working for peace and human rights, called on the UN Human Rights Council to "support a resolution that seeks accountability for the terrible violations of international law".

See their full piece here. Extracts reproduced below:

“This week the UN Human Rights Council has an opportunity and a duty to help Sri Lanka advance its own efforts on accountability and reconciliation. Both are essential if a lasting peace is to be achieved. In doing so, the council will not only be serving Sri Lanka, but those worldwide who believe there are universal rights and international legal obligations we all share.”

“In the absence of a credible and independent investigation into what happened in Sri Lanka, the Human Rights Council has an obligation to uphold human rights law and international humanitarian law during its upcoming 2012 sessions.,”

“Against this background, and continuing reports of human rights violations by the authorities, we urge the council to support a resolution that seeks accountability for the terrible violations of international law that have taken place, and establishes mechanisms to monitor progress on the steps the government is taking on accountability. If there is insufficient progress by the government in establishing a credible accountability process in the near future, we urge council members to support the establishment of an independent investigation.”