On March 6, 2010, Sri Lankan President Mahina Rajapaksa rejected a United Nations (UN) plan to appoint a panel of experts to investigate alleged abuses during the nation's civil war. Rajapaksa called the plan "totally uncalled for and unwarranted." He claimed that the work of such a panel would interfere with upcoming democratic elections and that additional investigation would be redundant because there was already an independent committee in place to investigate allegations of war crimes. The latest call for inquiries came after statements from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who criticized the state of human rights in the island nation before the Human Rights Council (HRC). The allegations stem from the final months of civil war between government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. Both sides have faced accusations of atrocities in the aftermath of conflict.

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Learn more about Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers, and the Human Rights Council from the JURIST news archive.

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