Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said the resolution on Sri Lanka, passed at the Human Rights Council on Thursday, was a "crucial step" towards uncovering the truth about alleged war crimes and ensuring accountability.

In a statement released on Friday, Mr Cameron pledged Britain's commitment to stand up for those affected by the armed conflict.

The prime minister welcomed Sri Lanka's commitment to ensuring perpetrators of war crimes are held to account and encouraged the government to continue working with the UN.

Posters by President Maithripala Sirisena's party, the SLFP, have appeared hailing him for saving Sri Lanka from the imperialist trap, after the passing of the consensus resolution on Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Writing for Channel 4 news, the No Fire Zone documentary director, Callum Macrae, said that victims and human rights organisations will expect to see real measurable progress in Sri Lanka on the implementation of the UNHRC resolution.

Noting that Sri Lanka would come under real pressure if progress wasn’t seen by the international community in upcoming weeks, Mr Macrae said “One likely issue to become an immediate focus of campaigning will be for the establishment of properly staffed and adequately funded regional office of the OHCHR in the Jaffna or Kilinochchi areas of the north.”

Highlighting that international judges, defence lawyers, prosecutors and investigators were crucial for a credible accountability process, Amnesty International welcomed the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka as an “opportunity” for justice if “the resolution and underlying commitments of Sri Lanka’s government are implemented in good faith,” said Amnesty International in a press release on Thursday.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena told the United Nations that his government had “succeeded in eliminating terrorism” and was willing to share their experience with other countries.

Addressing the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Mr Sirisena said:

“Sri Lanka succeeded in eliminating terrorism, which continues to throttle other developing countries extending from Asia to Africa and Latin America".

“We defeated one of the world's most ruthless terror outfits,” added Mr Sirisena.

“We believe that all these experiences can be shared fruitfully with other developing countries affected by terrorism,” he said. “Sri Lanka remains prepared to engage in a more active dialogue with these countries and will continue to speak and advocate against terrorism.”

A Sri Lankan army division accused of war crimes handed out spectacles to Tamil civilians last weekend, whilst another division held an eye clinic in the North-East.

On Saturday September 26, military officials handed out glasses to Tamil civilians at a ceremony in Kilinochchi, in a project coordinated by the 57 Division and 571 Brigade.

The 57 Division was led by Major General Jagath Dias during the final stages of the armed conflict, which saw tens of thousands of Tamil civilians killed. Maj Gen Dias, who was recently promoted by Sri Lanka’s new government, stands accused of commanding war crimes that the division committed.

Meanwhile in Mullaitivu on Sunday September 27, Army personnel from the 59, 64 and 68 Divisional areas, held an eye clinic at the Sillawatte Tamil College , in a project supervised by the 591 Brigade Commander.

Addressing member states of the UNHRC during the debate, United Nations Watch condemning the ongoing “oppression of the Tamils” in Sri Lanka, called on the new government to “end impunity” and deliver a credible process for reconciliation and accountability.

Welcoming the adoption of a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom said Sri Lanka “must address the difficult legacy of its past”.

UK Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire “welcomed the adoption of an important and historic resolution,” stating the “United Kingdom pushed hard for a UN process that would shine a light on a traumatic period in Sri Lanka’s history”.

The head of Sri Lanka's Missing Person Commission, Justice Maxwell Paranagama, rejected UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussain's call to disband the commission established by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, and establish a new, more credible mechanism to deal with the issue.

“We have been very transparent in our functioning. There were no armed forces or police personnel in the room where people testified. We held several sittings in the Tamil-speaking North and East and Colombo and examined 19,000 people including 16,000 from the North and East. The response to our call for testimonies was so good that if we sent out notices to 300 for a session, 1000 would turn up, and no one was turned away. Transport was arranged for people to go back to their villages if the sittings went late into the evening,” Mr Paranagama told The New Indian Express on Thursday.