International Investigation ONLY if majority of member states agree - says UN Chief Ban Ki-moon

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon says he will only launch an international investigation into allegations of possible war crimes taking place at the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka that ended in May, 2009, if the member states agree.

After releasing the Expert Panel report on Sri Lanka a UN statement said “the secretary-general has been advised that this (international investigation) 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.”

However the Ban’s statement didn't mention a forum but it could include the U.N. Security Council, General Assembly or Human Rights Council.

The panel's report called for an investigation of the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels, as it stated that tens of thousands of the final 2009 offensive against Tamil separatists may have resulted from war crimes.

The UN Chief also said that there would be an inquiry into United Nations' actions during the last stage of the war.
“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,” the statement added.

The 200-page report of a three-member panel, that made public, “found credible allegations” of violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws by both sides. The report also said UN “political organs and bodies failed to take actions that might have protected civilians,” including public use of casualty figures.

The report cited evidence that a “wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Workers trying to pump radioactive water from Japan reactors

Japanese engineers were frantically attempting on Saturday to pump out puddles of radioactive water at the earthquake-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant after it injured three workers and delayed efforts to cool reactors to safe levels.


Underscoring growing international qualms about nuclear power raised by the killer earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan two weeks ago, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was time to reassess the international atomic safety regime.



Radioactive water has been found in buildings of three of the six reactors at the power complex 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. On Thursday, three workers sustained burns at reactor No. 3 after being exposed to radiation levels 10,000 times higher than usually found in a reactor.


"Bailing out accumulated water from the turbine housing units before radiation levels rise further is becoming very important," said Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency senior official Hidehiko Nishiyama.


The 9.0 magnitude quake and giant waves on March 11 left more than 10,000 people dead and 17,000 missing.


Despite such a shocking toll, much attention since the disaster has been on the possibility of a catastrophic meltdown at Fukushima.


With elevated radiation levels around the plant triggering fears across the nation, storage of the contaminated water has to be handled carefully.


"We are working out ways of safely bailing out the water so that it does not get out into the environment, and we are making preparations," Nishiyama said.


He initially said the high radiation reading meant there could be damage to the reactor, but he later said it could be from venting operations to release pressure or water leakage from pipes or valves.


"There is no data suggesting a crack," he said.


Nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday there had not been much change in the crisis over the previous 24 hours.


"Some positive trends are continuing but there remain areas of uncertainty that are of serious concern," agency official Graham Andrew said in Vienna, adding the high radiation could be coming from steam.


On Friday, Nishiyama chided plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) for not following safety procedures inside the turbine building. Local media also criticized TEPCO, which has a poor safety record.


"The people on the spot have a strong sense of mission and may be trying to rush," the Nikkei business paper said. "But if the work is done hastily, it puts lives at risk and in the end, will delay the repairs. This kind of accident ought to have been avoidable by proceeding with the work cautiously."


Source; Reuters