Jaffna, Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil leaders today asked the top UN human rights official to help determine the fate of more than 4,000 civilians reported missing in the country's long civil war amid the government's assertion that most of them are probably dead.
The UN official, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, met with the chief minister of Sri Lanka's Northern Province, the center of the civil war, which ended in 2009. Zeid is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to review measures taken by the government to investigate alleged war abuses during the war.
Both the Sri Lankan government and the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels are accused of serious human rights violations. According to UN estimates, up to 100,000 people were killed in the 26-year war, but many more are feared to have died, including up to 40,000 civilians in the final months of the fighting.
The UN Human Rights Council last year adopted a consensus resolution in which Sri Lanka agreed to an investigation with foreign participation.
Zeid said he discussed several issues with Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and other provincial officials, including the missing people, detentions without trial and military-occupied private land. He said he would take the issues up with the central government.
"The discussions very much focused on the challenges faced by the province, but also the plans and achievements in that regard, and the people who aspire to see more information in terms of those detained and those missing and the issue of release of lands," Zeid said.
He said the discussions would continue during his visit.
Wigneswaran said he gave Zeid a list of the more than 4,000 people reported missing, with dates and places where they were seen last.
Many civilians have not been heard from since they were picked up by police or military personnel at their homes or abducted by pro-government militia during the war. Relatives say there are many whom they personally handed over to the military at the end of the fighting, after the military requested the surrender of anyone who had even the smallest link to the now-defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, promising their early release.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected last year, has said most of those reported missing are probably dead. He said that the new government found no secret detention centers being run by the state, as suspected by families of the missing, and that there are only 292 people in government detention.
The UN official, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, met with the chief minister of Sri Lanka's Northern Province, the center of the civil war, which ended in 2009. Zeid is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to review measures taken by the government to investigate alleged war abuses during the war.
Both the Sri Lankan government and the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels are accused of serious human rights violations. According to UN estimates, up to 100,000 people were killed in the 26-year war, but many more are feared to have died, including up to 40,000 civilians in the final months of the fighting.
Zeid said he discussed several issues with Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and other provincial officials, including the missing people, detentions without trial and military-occupied private land. He said he would take the issues up with the central government.
Advertisement
He said the discussions would continue during his visit.
Advertisement
Many civilians have not been heard from since they were picked up by police or military personnel at their homes or abducted by pro-government militia during the war. Relatives say there are many whom they personally handed over to the military at the end of the fighting, after the military requested the surrender of anyone who had even the smallest link to the now-defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, promising their early release.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
New Israeli Settlements Threaten Creation Of Palestinian State, Says UN India's Strong Reply After UN Rights Body Head's Electoral Process Remark "Entrenched Impunity...": UN On Human Rights Violations In Israel, Palestine Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai UP Banker Dies By Suicide After 6 Months Of Bullying, Body-Shaming Secret Service Head To Testify To US House Panel On Trump Shooting Florida Man Arrested For Making Threats Against Biden 4 Killed, 3 Missing In Landslide In Karnataka Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.