U.N. scrutiny over Sri Lanka war crimes

The UN believes 80,000-100,000 people died in conflict over two decades, in which the LTTE sought to carve out a bogus state for the Tamil minority.

Michelle Bachelet in UN human rights received a mandate on Tuesday to collect evidence of crimes during Sri Lanka‘s 26 year long civil war, which ended in 2009 with the defeat of the LTTE and rise of civilian deaths.

United Nations has accused both sides of war crimes.

In the final days, the army cornered the LTTE into a tiny strip of the northeastern coast in a powerful offensive, where the government says the LTTE kept thousands of civilians as human shields, creating and increased death toll.

“It is high significant for victims,” said Yasmin Louise Sooka a leading human rights lawyer, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa and a trustee of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre.  She is involved in a civil litigation against Sri Lanka‘s sitting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for alleged war crimes, after the U.N. Human Right Council resolution.

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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bachelet, has condemned Sri Lanka’s government that promises undertaken to deliver social justice for war victims have not been sufficient.

Twenty two countries votes in favour and including China and Pakistan and other nine against in the total of 11, and 14 absenties including India.