UN human rights officials to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 September 2007, 03:24 GMT]
Three top Human Rights officials are expected to visit Sri Lanka in the first two weeks of October and December this year to look into human rights issues in Sri Lanka. UNP Special Rapporteaur against Torture, Manfred Nowak, will be in Colombo from October 1 to 8 and High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour from October 8 to13. Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs), Walter Kaelin, is to visit from December 13 to 21.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry sources confirmed the visit of these officials to Sri Lanka, Colombo media reports said.

An Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation on human rights is also expected to visit Colombo later this month on a fact-finding mission, reports said.

In the meantime, French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, has accepted an invitation to visit Sri Lanka early next year. Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama extended the invitation last week when he held discussion with Bernard Kouchner in Paris, media sources said.

Bernard Kouchner was earlier a member of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) headed by former Indian Chief Justice Mr.P.N.Bagawati. IIGEP was appointed to oversee progress of investigations into extra-judicial killings in Sri Lanka.