Following the UN rights council's resolution that exempted Sri Lanka of a probe into alleged war crimes, the United States on Thursday urged the Government of Sri Lanka to grant the international community full access to the northern region, and the UN to better understand the facts on the ground in Sri Lanka and to review the situation.
Ian Kelly, US department Spokesman commenting on the rights council's outcome said "we believe that it’s important for the international community to have more accurate information about what has been happening on both sides during and after the recent offensive in northern Sri Lanka."
And as I said many times here before, we welcome the end of the fighting and we look forward to helping, any way we can, building a lasting peace based on national political reconciliation and the full respect of human rights, Kelly said.
The Spokesman further added that United States believe in accountability, but the focus right now is getting humanitarian assistance to the people who need it most and to help the Government of Sri Lanka facilitate a political reconciliation process.
Mark C. Storella, United States Ambassador to UN speaking at the HRC's special session on Thursday, said that the United States welcomed the end of fighting in the north of Sri Lanka. This was an important moment for the Sri Lankan nation. The United States hoped that the Council would be able to provide the Government of Sri Lanka with some useful ideas to build lasting peace based on national reconciliation and full respect of human rights.
While they had heard many differing views during this session, they believed that the basis existed for consensus on a group of human rights and humanitarian priorities, many of which had already been embraced by the Sri Lankan Government and which could be carried forward with the assistance of the international community.
The United States strongly urged the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure immediate, full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to all persons in need and to work hand in hand with the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and non-governmental organizations.
They also appreciated the strong commitment made by Sri Lanka to the promotion and protection of human rights in keeping with international human rights standards and the country's international obligations. To secure peace, they also encouraged the Government to make all possible efforts to combat discrimination against persons belonging to ethnic minorities.
News edited by Tamil National [
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
]
