On
Sri Lanka,
Pillay Won't
Visit, At
Least Not
Before March,
Silva in NY
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 13 –
That UN High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights
Navi Pillay
was to visit
Sri Lanka, in
January or at
least before
the
March session
of the Human
Rights Council
in Geneva, had
long been
expected.
But
that is not to
be, at least
on that
timeline.
On
February 12,
the day after
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon dodged
a
question on
Sri Lanka at
the Council on
Foreign
Relations
in New
York, Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
spokesman
about it, and
asked
Pillay what
happened to
her visit to
Sri Lanka.
“Let's
see in the
March session
when they come
over if
they'll fix a
date,”
Pillay
exclusively
told Inner
City Press.
But
what about the
visit
happening
before the
March session,
to inform
it, asked
Inner City
Press.
“No,”
replied
Pillay. Much
later on
February 12,
after his
“Protection
of Civilians”
speech past 9
pm in the
Security
Council,
Inner City
Press asked
Sri Lanka's
Permanent
Representative
to the UN
Palitha
Kohona about
Pillay's
visit.
Kohona smiled
and told Inner
City Press
exclusively,
among other
things, “She
is welcome to
come.”
Inner
City Press
asked Kohona
of the
whereabouts of
his Deputy
Shavendra
Silva, who
despite
appearing in
Ban Ki-moon's
own report on
war
crimes in Sri
Lanka was
allowed to
advise Ban on
Peacekeeping
Operations and
to “inspect”
the UN mission
in Lebanon.
“He
is in his
apartment here
in New York,”
Kohona
answered,
again with
a smile. “It
is late so he
is in his
apartment.”
Returning
to
the wan
Sri Lanka
question that
was left
un-followed up
on at the
Council on
Foreign
Relations amid
mutual praise
and secrecy,
Inner
City Press at
the February
12 UN noon
briefing
asked:
Inner
City Press:
Ban Ki-moon
was asked a
question about
Sri Lanka,
specifically
about the
Charles Petrie
report and to
provide an
update
on whether the
recommendations
in it have
been carried
out. And at
least the way
I heard it, he
answered and
said in Mali
we have
deployed human
rights
observers and
he said
something
about we did
the same in
Sri Lanka,
maybe I
misunderstood
that part of
the quote,
but what is
the update?
What steps
have been
taken by the
Secretary-General
since the
Charles Petrie
report was
given to him
with its
pretty damning
critique of
the UN’s
action and
inaction?
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: Well,
you know very
well, because
we’ve
announced
it, that the
Deputy
Secretary-General
is heading
this internal
group
that is
looking at the
follow-up to
the Petrie
report, that
is under
way. And there
is not much
more to add at
this point,
except that
that work is
under way.
Inner
City Press: in
going over the
report, it
does make some
recommendations
and seems like
it wasn’t--
Spokesperson:
Yes, Matthew,
and as those
recommendations,
all of which
the
Secretary-General
believes are
serious and
important
because the
whole report
was of that
nature, are
being looked
at, are being
studied, and
it would be
the result of
this group
that is under
the
leadership of
the Deputy
Secretary-General
to look at how
those
recommendations
can be
implemented
and to what
extent in
different
parts of the
overall UN
family, but it
is a work in
progress.
There
is work going
on on this;
the meetings
have already
started with
the
different
parts of the
UN system that
have to do
with this.
So
nearly four
years on, the
UN's response
to a detailed
study of its
inaction and
responsibility
in Sri Lanka
in 2009 is...
another study.
Watch this
site.
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