UN says Sri Lanka war crimes footage is ‘authentic’

[BBC] The UN special investigator into extrajudicial killings in Sri Lanka says video footage showing soldiers apparently executing civilians is evidence of serious rights abuses. Christof Heyns presented the video footage to the UN Human Rights Council. He said that after careful analysis, he had concluded that it was authentic. The government has angrily denied…

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U.N. pressures Sri Lanka over alleged war atrocities

[Reuters] A U.N. envoy said on Tuesday the international community as well as Sri Lanka should further investigate horrific footage apparently showing summary executions of naked men and women during Sri Lanka’s civil war. He stopped short of saying there could be an international war crimes case, but his comments raised pressure on Colombo to…

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Sri Lanka: UN Rights Council Fails Victims

[ HRW ] The United Nations Human Rights Council on May 27 passed a deeply flawed resolution on Sri Lanka that ignores calls for an international investigation into alleged abuses during recent fighting and other pressing human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. The council held a special session on May 26 and 27,…

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UN faces fierce clash over call for Sri Lanka war crimes inquiry

[The Times] Sri Lanka is to clash with Western powers at the United Nations Human Rights Council today in an effort to ward off any investigation into alleged war crimes committed during its military offensive against the Tamil Tigers. The country has marshalled a team of powerful allies led by China, Russia and India to…

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