To this end, it purposefully underestimated the number of civilians who
remained in the conflict zone. Tens of thousands lost their lives from January
to May 2009, many of whom died anonymously in the carnage of the final few
days.”
The Panel of Experts also found that there
were credible allegations of 40,000 civilians having been killed during the final phase
of the war. The Panel of Experts Report further mentioned the non-existence of a
political environment within Sri Lanka that would allow for justice to be ensured.
In November last year (2012), the United Nations produced an internal report which
subsequently became public assessing the behavior of the UN during the last phase of
the war. The report, popularly known as the Charles Petrie Report, noted that the UN
had failed in Sri Lanka and that:
“The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, who also has an
international Human Rights and humanitarian law mandate, raised
concern with the Government and the Secretary-General over the
situation but favoured quiet diplomacy and told the Government he
would “not speak out.” When his office later tried to issue a public
statement this was not supported by UNHQ”
“It is nevertheless clear
that there can be no lasting peace and stability without dealing with
the most serious past violations and without a political response to the
aspirations of Sri Lanka’s communities. The UN cannot fulfill its postconflict and development responsibilities in Sri Lanka without
addressing these fundamental concerns; and the UN should continue
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