The UN Human Rights Council on Monday decided to give the new Sri Lankan government six months to cooperate with the UN inquiry into mass atrocities against the Tamil people, in order to ensure the submission of further information, stressing however, that the extension of time would be "for one time only".

In a written letter to the Council, which was holding a preliminary meeting on Monday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, requested member states to defer their consideration of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report, till the 30th session in September, to allow for cooperation from the Sri Lankan government in order to gather more information and ensure a "stronger and more comprehensive report".

“There should be no misunderstanding,” Mr Zeid stressed, in a letter read to the Council, "I give my personal, absolute and unshakable commitment that the report will be published by September."

"Like my predecessors, I believe that one of the most important duties of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is to act as a strong voice on behalf of victims. I want this report to have the maximum possible impact in ensuring a genuine and credible process of accountability and reconciliation in which the rights of victims to truth, justice and reparations are finally respected.”

Political leaders across Tamil Nadu, welcoming a recent Northern Provincial Council resolution in Sri Lanka calling on the UN inquiry to investigate genocide of the Tamil people, called on the Indian central government to endorse the resolution and take action to address the grievances of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

The Hindu retrieved reactions of figureheads from a plethora of political parties in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to The Hindu, the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer ML Stalin said, India must pass an internal resolution acknowledging the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka.

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representative in Tamil Nadu, S Ramadoss, called on the Delhi to take action and facilitate a referendum living across the world for an independent state of Tamil Eelam.

The general secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) G Vaiko, highlighting that militarisation of the North-East continued under Sri Lankka’s new government, said the NPC resolution proved the new Sirisena government would not be able to meet the needs of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been urged to back a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, which will support the adoption of a report on mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, said Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) M Karunanidhi.

“Now that the Sri Lankan Provincial Government has passed a resolution calling for an international probe into genocide, I request you to kindly consider moving a suitable resolution in the UNHRC,” said Mr Karunanidhi earlier this week.

"The community of the Tamils anxiously expect the Indian government to support the adoption of the report in the UNHRC," he added.

Mr Karunanidhi’s comments come as Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena arrived in India on his first official visit of the country. Since Mr Sirisena took office in January though, efforts taken towards appeasing Tamil demands have failed to materialise said Mr Karunanidhi.

"What is now happening in Sri Lanka has upset the Tamils. The promises and announcements are too many and what has been achieved is either nil or very little," Mr Karunanidhi said. “What can be done in a couple of days has not been done and there are no positive signals towards what should be done within a timeframe.”

A domestic investigation cannot be accepted regardless  of when the release of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights report into Sri Lanka’s atrocities (OISL) occurs, the Tamil National Alliance said on Sunday.

Commenting on Sri Lanka’s requests to delay the OISL report to allow for a domestic initiative, TNA MP M Sumanthiran, said,

Photograph: Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon discussed human rights, accountability and reconciliation with the Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs Mangala Samaraweera, outlining them as “critical priorities” for Sri Lanka on Friday.

The meeting at UN headquarters in New York comes after Mr Samaraweera visited the UK and US, where he announced publicly that Sri Lanka was seeking to delay the findings of a United Nations investigation into mass atrocities on the island.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, UN diplomatic sources said Mr Samaraweera had made the same call to the UN Secretary General. Inner City Press reported that Sri Lanka's outgoing Ambassador to the United Nations Palitha Kohona was also present at the meeting.

The United States said it is focused on supporting “accountability and reconciliation” in Sri Lanka, following a visit from the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Mangala Samaraweera, who was in Washington on Thursday.

“The United States, our focus and the focus of our partners in the international community is supporting accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka,” said US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, speaking at the daily press briefing on Friday.

“We’re determining the best way forward to address these issues,” said Ms Psaki, confirming that the United Nations investigation into mass atrocities against Tamils was discussed at Mr Samaraweera’s meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

However, she added that conversations around delaying the report would be kept “private”, stating that “this is a matter for the UN High Commissioner (Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein) to determine”.

“We have absolute confidence in [the High Commissioner] and in this process,” she added.