On Sri Lanka, Ban Passed Buck to GA, Whose Leader Passes It Back, Letter to US

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 27 -- When UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was urged by the UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka to establish an investigative mechanism, Ban claimed he couldn't do so without a vote by the General Assembly, Security Council or Human Rights Council.

On May 27, Inner City Press asked the President of the General Assembly Joseph Deiss about the Sri Lanka Report. “It's for the Secretary General to handle this case,” PGA Deiss said.

So Ban says it's up to the General Assembly, but the head of the General Assembly says it's up to Ban. This is called passing the buck.

Ban then Deiss and coup leader Rajoelina, buck passing not shown

   Meanwhile a slew of human rights groups have urged the US to raise the Sri Lanka report in the Human Rights Council in June, in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, Samantha Power, Robert Blake, Esther Brimmer, Eileen Donahoe, Harold Koh, Michael Posner, Stephen Rapp and others.

  Inner City Press has asked the US Mission to the UN for its response, but none was received four hours later by press time.

Ambassador Rice held a “background” call for select media on May 26; it is not reported what was discussed, other than a US speaker (not Rice) chided even the select media for not covering her trip to Sudan, but not Abyei, or any attempt at Darfur. Watch this site.