Pillay says stands by her report on Sri Lanka

Friday, 1 August 2014 00:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says she stands by her report on Sri Lanka submitted to the UN Human Rights Council last year and rejected the notion that it was “propaganda”. In an interview with Al-Jazeera television this week, Pillay said that some of the information mentioned in her report and the UN Experts Panel report was similar to what was reported by the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). “It’s true the country is reconstructing and wants to move forward but you have to address what victims ask. So I would reject the notion that this is propaganda and made up. These are facts mentioned to us and again and again we placed it before them,” she said. Pillay recalled that the Government was asked by the UN Human Rights Council to fully implement the recommendations of the LLRC yet the Government failed to do so. Asked about the harassment faced by some people, including a priest, who she met while visiting Sri Lanka last year Pillay said it was a low point in her career. She said such incidents left her with the conviction that people in Sri Lanka need international focus and international pressure. (Colombo Gazette)