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| Navanethem Pillay |
Good morning, and thank you for coming.
As is customary at the end of official missions such as this, I would like to make some
observations concerning the human rights situation in the country.
During my seven-day visit, I have held discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and
senior members of the Government. These included the Ministers of External Affairs, Justice,
Economic Development, National Languages and Social Integration, Youth Affairs and the
Minister of Plantations Industries who is also Special Envoy to the President on Human
Rights, as well as the Secretary of Defence. I also met the Chief Justice, Attorney-General,
Leader of the House of Parliament and the Permanent Secretary to the President, who is
head of the taskforce appointed to monitor the implementation of the report of the Lessons
Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
