The UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) approved an international criminal inquiry into Sri Lankan human rights abuses that occurred during the decades long civil war, reports the New York Times.
The inquiry will be a year-long investigation into the alleged human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government in the civil war against Tamil rebels. The inquiry will cost an estimated $1.46 million.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said that there was little progress by the Sri Lankan government to hold those accountable for atrocities that happened during the war.
The UN Human Rights Council voted 23 to 12 in favour of US-sponsored investigation. The approval allows for Pillay’s office to investigate war crimes perpetrated by both sides.
The Sri Lankan government is against the inquiry, calling it a “breach of international law,” reports the Associated Press.
