The United Nations Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet has called for an International Criminal Court investigation into Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict and sanctions may be imposed on military officials allegedly involved in war crimes agency reports said
. “Domestic initiatives for accountability and reconciliation have repeatedly failed to produce results, more deeply entrenching impunity, and exacerbating victims’ distrust in the system,” she said in the report obtained before its official release.
The government has reversed some advances made under previous administrations in protecting human rights, the report said.
Sri Lanka has not signed up to the ICC, and so it is outside its jurisdiction. But while another state cannot refer a non-signatory to the ICC, the UN can.
In her latest assessment, Bachelet recommended for the first time that the ICC look into Sri Lanka’s case, and said action should be taken against war criminals, including Tamil rebels.
The UN rights chief said several top police officers involved in high-profile cases had been eitherpenalized or arrested to stifle investigations.
