Amnesty Secretary-General Salil Shetty met with Kevin Rudd and pressed him to back calls for an independent international investigation into war crimes.
Previously Rudd had stated that Australia would await the outcome of Sri Lanka’s LLRC report before acting, but Shetty told reporters,
"We know what it's going to say because we know that the process was deeply flawed.
We've waited long enough. The time is right to call for an independent investigation."
Shetty said that the Foreign Minister was receptive to his proposals, stating,
"He understands where we are coming from. I think they're going to actively consider our request.”
Rudd met with members of the Tamil diaspora in June, telling them that allegations of war crimes should be "tested, assessed and, if accurate, substantiated".
After the screening of “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” on Australian television in July, Rudd then tweeted that the footage was "deeply disturbing" and said,
"(The) UN Human Rights Council can't simply push this to one side. Action needed."