Colombo:
United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has assured the relatives of Tamil people who disappeared during Sri Lanka's 25-year-long civil war that he would take up their grievances with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Ms Pillay, the senior-most UN official to visit the country since Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009, yesterday toured the site of the last conflict between the Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers at Nanthikandal which resulted in the LTTE's defeat.
She met aggrieved families who complained about missing relatives, military land grabs and life without basic facilities.
Ms Pillay assured them that the issues would be discussed with President Rajapaksa during a meeting later this week.
The UN official, who also visited the former LTTE nerve-centre of Mullaithivu, however, admitted that no quick solutions could be expected.
Ms Pillay is in Lanka on a week-long assessment visit ahead of the UN Human Rights Council's session in September.
Sri Lankan military defeated the LTTE in May 2009, putting an end to their three-decade long bid to create a separate state for Tamils.
According to human rights groups, over 500 people had disappeared from Jaffna during the military's onslaught against the LTTE. According to a UN report, Sri Lankan army may have killed 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final phase of the war.
Sri Lanka is under intense international pressure to probe disappearances and alleged rights abuses during the final phase of the military campaign. The UN Human Rights Council headed by Ms Pillay has adopted two resolutions binding Sri Lanka to show progress on rights accountability.
Ms Pillay's visit comes as Canada has called for a boycott of a Commonwealth summit scheduled to take place in Colombo in November.
Ms Pillay, the senior-most UN official to visit the country since Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009, yesterday toured the site of the last conflict between the Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers at Nanthikandal which resulted in the LTTE's defeat.
She met aggrieved families who complained about missing relatives, military land grabs and life without basic facilities.
Ms Pillay assured them that the issues would be discussed with President Rajapaksa during a meeting later this week.
The UN official, who also visited the former LTTE nerve-centre of Mullaithivu, however, admitted that no quick solutions could be expected.
Ms Pillay is in Lanka on a week-long assessment visit ahead of the UN Human Rights Council's session in September.
Sri Lankan military defeated the LTTE in May 2009, putting an end to their three-decade long bid to create a separate state for Tamils.
According to human rights groups, over 500 people had disappeared from Jaffna during the military's onslaught against the LTTE. According to a UN report, Sri Lankan army may have killed 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final phase of the war.
Sri Lanka is under intense international pressure to probe disappearances and alleged rights abuses during the final phase of the military campaign. The UN Human Rights Council headed by Ms Pillay has adopted two resolutions binding Sri Lanka to show progress on rights accountability.
Ms Pillay's visit comes as Canada has called for a boycott of a Commonwealth summit scheduled to take place in Colombo in November.
