UN expert panel’s report: US welcomes, India noncommittal

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 14:42 GMT]
Whilst India issued a tepid response to the UN expert panel’s report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, the United States strongly welcomed the report and its being made public, and, declaring “that accountability and reconciliation are inextricably linked,” unequivocally backed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s actions for Sri Lanka to respond constructively to the report. In seeming contrast, India’s terse statement, also issued Tuesday, said: “The issues raised in the Report need to be studied carefully. As a first step, we intend to engage with the Government of Sri Lanka on the issues contained in the Report.”

Full text of the statement by Susan Rice, the US Permanent Representative to the UN, follows:

The United States welcomes today’s public release of the UN Panel of Experts’ report on Sri Lanka. We appreciate the detailed and extensive work of the panel and believe it makes a valuable contribution to next steps that should be taken in support of justice, accountability, human rights, and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. We commend the Secretary General for his decision to release the report publicly.

The United States has been at the forefront of efforts to support an effective, transparent post-conflict reconciliation process in Sri Lanka that includes accountability for violations by all parties. The report highlights the need for an independent and full accounting of the facts in order to ensure that allegations of abuse are addressed and impunity for human rights violations is avoided. We strongly support the Secretary General’s call for the Sri Lankan authorities to respond constructively to the report and underscore our belief that accountability and reconciliation are inextricably linked.