Zeid Al Hussein urges Government to engage productively with his office

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has urged the Sri Lankan Governmenmt to engage productively with his office on the investigation on Sri Lanka.

In response to a letter sent to his office by the External Affairs Ministry, Zeid’s office has sought Sri Lanka’s engagement on substantive issues under investigation.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also reiterated that the call for submissions in relation to the investigation has ended and the submissions email address has ceased to exist.

OHCHR also said that it stands by the impartiality, integrity, objectivity and independence of the investigation on Sri Lanka which was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council.

The Government had earlier accused the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of double standards and also alleged that OHCHR wanted to obtain false evidence on the war, which was being collected in the north, and so kept the door open for submissions even after the deadline expired.

The Government had said that while there could have been a formal announcement saying the deadline had been extended it was unacceptable that only some people were informed saying late submissions will be accepted. (Colombo Gazette)