President, Cabinet to consult on UN report once referred to Govt.

Friday, 7 August 2015 00:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday that President Maithripala Sirisena was tipped to receive a draft of the UN report on allegations of war crimes committed during the war later this month, which would then be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers for consultations.

Senaratne said that once the report was sent to the President, the Cabinet would also be allowed to study its contents and decide which of its sections could be accepted by the Government of Sri Lanka and which sections could not.

“We are going to conduct a domestic investigation that will meet international standards and norms and will be accepted by the international community,” Senaratne said.

He said that once the Cabinet reviews the UN report, a decision would be made on how to structure the domestic inquiry mechanism.

Asked if the Government would cooperate with the Northern Provincial Council on the domestic investigation, Senaratne said that since many of the alleged deaths had taken place in the North, there was no harm in collaborating with the Council in trying to ascertain the facts. However, he insisted a decision on whether to collaborate with the Northern PC on the investigation mechanism would only be made by Cabinet after it reviewed the UN report.