The United Nations on Thursday launched an inquiry into war crimes allegedly committed by both Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil rebels during the country's civil war, which ended in 2009, saying the government had failed to properly investigate. In Geneva, members of the 47-country U.N. Human Rights Council agreed to establish the yearlong investigation, estimated to cost $1.46 million, based on the recommendation of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi PIllay. By a 23-to-12 vote Thursday, with 12 abstentions, the top U.N. human-rights body approved a U.S. led resolution authorizing Pillay's office to launch "a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka." The inquiry also seeks to hold perpetrators accountable.
