A senior US senator has called on his government to push for the "most robust international role" in the accountability process, mandated by a UN resolution last week at the Human Rights Council.

Senator Ben Cardin, who is the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Sri Lanka must resolve "long standing issues of accountability", before opportunities for greater economic and security cooperation can be realised.

"This resolution is not perfect, but if fully implemented, it provides the most promising path forward since the end of the war. The resolution leaves open the possibility for international judges and prosecutors in Sri Lanka’s judicial mechanism to promote accountability. The current government has made clear that the international role will be limited to providing technical assistance and advice. As the U.S. works with Sri Lanka to implement the resolution, I urge our diplomats to push for the most robust international role in the accountability process," the senator said.

 Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe called on Japan to convene a donor conference for the social and economic development of the conflict affected areas in the island, reports Colom

The British Tamils Forum said that it is “paramount” for “victims, their representatives and civil society organisations” to be involved “in the design, implementation and monitoring stages” of an accountability mechanism to deal with mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict.

In a statement released on Monday, the British organisation said “We urge the International Community to ensure that the ensuing processes are not compromised or hijacked by a Sri Lankan domestic process in which the victims will have no faith”. “Consultation with victims, their representatives and civil society organisations is paramount in the design, implementation and monitoring stages of the process formulation,” it said. “A robust witness protection system for the victims and witnesses within and outside Sri Lanka is extremely important for them to come forward and their protection from persecution by Sri Lanka.”
 
The statement went on to “express concern at the sentiment of Sri Lanka’s domestic statements on the passing of the consensus resolution at the UNHRC”. “It must be noted that the ground realities for the victims in the North-East are yet to change,” said BTF.

The UN Human Rights Council resolution in Sri Lanka brings “great expectations” for reconciliation, truth-seeking, non-recurrence and an opportunity for a political solution, said The Hindu in an editorial on Monday.

Stating that Sri Lanka’s “democratic institutions and instruments of governance require a systemic overhaul after having been undermined by the previous regime”, The Hindu said the UN resolution “emphasises justice and accountability for excesses committed by both sides, especially in the last phase of the civil war; on a political process to devolve power to the ethnic minorities; and an overall commitment to strengthen governance and democracy and end what many thought was an atmosphere of impunity”.

Noting that “for some, the idea of a judicial mechanism that includes foreign judges to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of war crimes and other offences may seem to fall short of the international inquiry of the sort they favour,” it added “an investigation process that inspires the confidence of victims to come forward and depose will have to be put in place”.

“Fixing command responsibility for the bombing of civilians and the execution of those who surrendered, especially on political functionaries and their family members, is not going to be easy and must be marked by due process,” said the editorial.

Sri Lanka will apply for the EU trade concession, GSP+ before the end of this year, the country's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Harsha De Silva, said when addressing the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

“Before the end of the year we will make formal application and regain GSP Plus by the middle of 2016,” he was quoted by Economy Next as saying, adding that the consensus resolution adopted at the UN Human Rights Council had "helped repair strained foreign relations".

The World Bank says Sri Lanka must manage pressure on its currency and raise revenue to reduce its fiscal deficit, in a new report on South Asia.

“Structural challenges include increasing fiscal revenue and narrowing a persistent current account deficit linked to structural competitiveness issues in the export sector,” the bank said in its bi-annual South Asia Economic Focus report.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and parties across the state have criticised the United Nations Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka as “weak” and that it will not lead to justice for those that were killed by Sri Lankan security forces.

"The resolution passed yesterday will in no way render justice to Sri Lankan Tamils. This resolution is in favour of Sri Lankan government and adversarial to Sri Lankan Tamils," said Ms Jayalalithaa in a statement. "This weak resolution adopted by perceiving a change of heart of the Srilankan government will not do any good to Srilankan Tamils," she added.

She went on to express his disappointment at the Indian central government for not acting on the Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution passed last month calling on the Indian central government to back an international investigation into the mass atrocities. “I had clearly stated in the Tamil Nadu Assembly that the Indian government had the duty to prevent a resolution asking Sri Lanka itself to probe into war crimes … However, that the Central government has not taken any positive steps over this issue has caused unhealable wound," she said.