“Kyung-wha Kang, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights strongly supported the Congressional request for reporting on Sri Lanka, seeing it as a sign of high-level attention to these issues. She noted that High Commissioner Pillay has publicly called for an international investigation of what seem like credible accusations of violations of humanitarian and human rights law. Within the UN system, Kang said that Pillay has faced serious opposition to this approach. Other UN agencies see the need to get things done on the ground (e.g. humanitarian and recovery assistance) as the priority and fear that Pillay’s approach will make the GSL reticent to cooperate. Kang lamented that the GSL has ‘an absolute deaf ear,’ on questions of human rights, particularly when it comes to any international dimension.” the US Mission to UN informed Washington.
source: Colombo Telegraph (via Wikileaks)
