UN rights body presses Sri Lanka war crime probes

(March 23, 2012) The United Nations’ top human rights body urged Sri Lanka on Thursday to properly investigate alleged war crimes committed by both sides during the country's quarter-century conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels. The U.N. Human Rights Council approved a U.S.-backed resolution urging the South Asian nation to probe allegations of summary executions, kidnappings and other abuses, but stopped short of calling for an international investigation. Sri Lanka and its allies fiercely opposed the resolution, saying it unduly interfered in the country's domestic affairs and could hinder its reconciliation process. But backers, such as the United States, the European Union and India, argued that credible probes into alleged crimes are an important step for justice and equality in post-conflict Sri Lanka. A U.N. panel report has concluded there are credible allegations that both the government and the rebels committed serious abuses that could amount to war crimes, especially during the last months of the conflict when thousands of civilians were killed. Despite the bloody end to the war in 2009, the government victory was seen by many as an opportunity for Sri Lanka to rebuild its ethnic relations, which had been battered by decades of anti-Tamil discrimination long before the war began in 1983.