Jeffrey Feltman to visit Sri Lanka this week

One week after the UN Human Rights Council agreed to withhold the already delayed report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, the UN announced that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s highest political official Jeffrey Feltman will visit the country this week.

“Mr. Feltman will travel to Sri Lanka on Saturday.  There, he plans to meet with senior officials of the Government of Sri Lanka, political parties and civil society groups. This will be his first visit to Sri Lanka, and he looks forward to discussing with Sri Lankan leaders various issues of mutual concern.” Ban Ki-moon’s Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.

When reporters asked whether Feltman is going visit Jaffna where there were protests over the weekend against the decision to defer that human rights report, Dujarric said “My understanding is that he will only go to Colombo to meet with various people.  We’ll get you, as the meetings happen, we’ll try to get you readouts.”