As Sri Lanka’s 6th Periodic Review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) came to an end on Thursday, one senior defence official who was scheduled to take part virtually from Colombo could not do so due to negative reports about him emerging from abroad.
National Intelligence Chief Ruwan Kulatunga came under severe criticism from Tamil diaspora groups over his role during the final phases of the civil war and the post-war period in the North.
Elliot Colburn from the House of Commons in the United Kingdom also sent a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Committee saying; “The inclusion of alleged human rights perpetrators at UN meetings is not something that should go unnoticed.”
Should this proceed, he asked the Committee to question him on the allegations just as his predecessor Sisira Mendis faced at the UN Committee Against Torture in 2016.
Instead of the National Intelligence Chief, another defence official took part in the meeting and read out a statement about the queries raised earlier.
Sunday Times, SL
