The UN Human Rights Chief expressed his concern at Sri Lanka’s slow progress on accountability when meeting the country’s prime minister.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, commented on his meeting with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe regarding human rights issues in Sri Lanka.
Zeid noted his appreciation of the consultation that was undertaken by the Consultation Taskforce on Reconciliation Mechanisms. However, he further stated, “At the same time, I expressed my concern at the slow progress in a number of areas, especially those relating to accountability, and informed the Prime Minister that this and other issues of concern will be reflected in the report I will be presenting to the Human Rights Council in March.”
Office of the High Commissioner was requested by the UN Human Rights Council to assess the progress of the implementation of its recommendations and other processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. An oral update to the Human Rights Council took place in June 2016, while a comprehensive report and discussion is to take place in March 2017.