Despite rejection, Govt. works out strategy to face UN probe
By Our Political Editor-Sunday, May 18, 2014
Pakistani lawyer briefs Govt. leaders on what to do, but non-confluence of thoughts in UPFA - Urgent Bill to protect victims of crime and witnesses as another response to Geneva resolution
The Government is engaged in a number of informal diplomatic initiatives to counter accusations against Sri Lanka, particularly when the UN Human Rights Council’s international investigation into alleged war crimes gets under way.
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan
The move is notwithstanding the official position that no such investigation would be recognised nor would those conducting it be allowed to enter the country. The composition of investigators and their terms of reference will be announced by the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay within the next two weeks. Formally it would be identified as an investigation conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as against terminology like a Commission of Inquiry or a probe by a Panel of Experts. The first intimation of the move, according to reports from Geneva, is to be to the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission in Geneva. That is for the purpose of formally conveying the message to the Government. A public announcement is to follow.