Briefing the General Assembly Monday on his recent visit to Sri Lanka and other visits, Mr. Ban said media reports alleging that some 20,000 civilians may have been killed during the last phase of the conflict “do not emanate from the UN and most are not consistent with the information at our disposal.”

Last week the French newspaper Le Monde first reported that an unofficial UN tally for civilian deaths in the final months of the government's siege against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) exceeded 20,000. 

The British newspaper The Times later reported the same figure, writing in an editorial that UN has no right to collude in suppressing the appalling evidence of a government-executed massacre of civilians in northeastern Sri Lanka. 

Ban vehemently rejected the notion that the UN had been involved in a cover-up.

“I categorically reject – repeat, categorically – any suggestion that the United Nations has deliberately under-estimated any figures,” the Secretary-General underscored.

“Let me also say, whatever the total, the casualties in the conflict were unacceptably high – as I have also said repeatedly,” he added.

Mr. Ban told the Assembly that during his 22-23 May visit to the South Asian island nation, he pressed the Government to heed international calls for an inquiry into alleged abuses and underscored the need for full accountability and transparency.

“Any inquiry conducted by the international community would require, first, the full cooperation of the host government, or, second, the support of the UN Member States, expressed through the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly or the Security Council,” he said.

Last week UN humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes also expressed the same view, he said the death was based on assumptions and that the final death toll may never be known. 

"It may be right, it may be wrong, it may be far too high, it may even be too low. But we honestly don't know. We've always said an investigation would be a good idea." 

Holmes said the 20,000 figure during the final phase was based on an unconfirmed UN estimate of around 7,000 civilian deaths through the end of April and added roughly 1,000 more per day after that. 

At the Human Rights Council’s special session on Sri Lanka last week, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that investigating abuses allegedly committed against civilians by both the Government and LTTE will help the country transition into a new future.

“There are strong reasons to believe that both sides have grossly disregarded the fundamental principle of the inviolability of civilians,” Ms. Pillay had stated, with the LTTE being accused of using civilians as human shields and the Government reportedly using heavy weapons on the small and densely-populated area of conflict in northern Sri Lanka.

An “independent and credible international investigation into recent events should be dispatched to ascertain the occurrence, nature and scale of violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as specific responsibilities,” she said.

The Secretary-General today voiced hope that the authorities will follow through with a statement issued jointly with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the end of his trip, in which they stressed that addressing the aspirations and grievances of all communities, as well as finding a lasting political solution, is essential for long-term development following the long-running conflict’s end.

Both leaders also agreed that with the conclusion of military operations, Sri Lanka has entered a new post-conflict phase and faces many obstacles relating to relief, rehabilitation, resettlement and reconciliation.

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