The United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday agreed to defer the release of a landmark inquiry into possible war crimes in Sri Lanka, after an intense lobbying campaign by the country’s newly elected government and what the United Nations top rights official described as “signals of broad cooperation” from Sri Lankan officials.
The release of the report on suspected rights abuses during the war with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has been put off until September. The release was originally scheduled for March.
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Mr. al-Hussein’s predecessor, Navi Pillay, visited Sri Lanka in 2013, at the end of which she sharply criticized the government.
The United Nations report would be the basis for the human rights council to recommend how to hold perpetrators of the most serious crimes accountable, which could include calling for a referral to the International Criminal Court.
