The Secretary-General's Statements

New York, 25 April 2011 - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General on public release of Panel of Experts' report on Sri Lanka

The United Nations has today made public the advisory report of the

Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on accountability with respect to the final

stages of the decades-long armed conflict in Sri Lanka, which was submitted to him
on 12 April 2011. The decision to release the report was made as a matter of
transparency and in the broader public interest.

The report was shared in its entirety with the Government of Sri Lanka on

12 April. The Secretary-General has indicated his willingness to publicize the

Government's response alongside the report. This invitation was extended to the Sri
Lanka Government throughout the week, including again on Saturday by the
Secretary-General to the External Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka. The Government has
not responded to this offer which nonetheless still stands.

The Secretary-General expresses his appreciation to the advisory Panel of Experts

who have provided their advice on how the undertaking on accountability in the
joint communiqué that he had made with the President at the conclusion of Sri
Lanka's war can be fulfilled.

The Secretary-General is carefully reviewing the report's conclusions and

recommendations with regard to events that took place during the final stages of the
conflict, including its assessment that there are a number of allegations of serious
violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by both
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka,
some of which could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Panel's first recommendation is that the Government of Sri Lanka should
respond to the serious allegations by initiating an effective accountability process
beginning with genuine investigations. The Secretary-General has consistently held
the view that Sri Lanka should, first and foremost, assume responsibility for
ensuring accountability for the alleged violations. This and a number of other short
and medium-term recommendations that the Panel proposed in regard to steps that
could be undertaken by the Government of Sri Lanka, have now been shared with
the Government. He encourages the Sri Lankan authorities to respond
constructively.

The Secretary-General has decided that he will respond positively to the Panel's
recommendation for a review of the United Nations' actions regarding the
implementation of its humanitarian and protection mandates during the war in Sri
Lanka – particularly in the last stages. The exact modality of such a review will be
determined after consultations with relevant agencies, funds and programmes.

In regard to the recommendation that he establish an international investigation

mechanism, the Secretary-General is advised that this will require host country
consent or a decision from Member States through an appropriate
intergovernmental forum. The monitoring and repository functions it was
suggested this mechanism undertake will continue to be performed by the United
Nations Secretariat.

The Secretary-General trusts that the Government of Sri Lanka will continue to
respect the work of the UN and its agencies as well as its obligations to the safety of
UN staff in Colombo. He regrets the inflammatory tone of some of the recent public
statements emanating from Sri Lanka.

The Secretary-General sincerely hopes that this advisory report will make a
contribution to full accountability and justice so that the Sri Lankan Government
and people will be able to proceed towards national reconciliation and peace.