A top US envoy will arrive in Sri Lanka today to discuss allegations of war crimes ahead of a UN review of Colombo’s human rights record. US Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp will spend five days in Sri Lanka discussing rights and reconciliation following the war, US State department said.
Mr Rapp will meet with government, political and civil society officials “on a range of issues focusing on Sri Lanka’s justice, accountability, and reconciliation processes,” the US State Department said in a short statement on its website.
The visit comes as the UN Human Rights Council meets in March to discuss whether Sri Lanka has shown progress towards reining in alleged rights abuses and investigated suspected war crimes.
UN rights chief Navi Pillay has warned Sri Lanka that it faces an international probe into the allegations if it has not shown progress by March.
There was no immediate comment from Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry on Rapp’s visit and no further details were immediately available, AFP reports.
