Sri Lanka has not asked the UN for help for the Special Bureau of Reconciliation it is setting up to deal with the legacy of the civil war that ravaged the island nation, a UN spokesman said yeterday.

The spokesman has said that in answer to a reporter's question that while the UN's Department of Political Affairs provides technical expertise requested by member states, it “has not received any request from Sri Lanka to provide assistance to their reconciliation bureau”. 

Sri Lanka has opposed a probe into “alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka” that was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council in March. 

Instead, the Sri Lankan government has insisted that they would handle the issue internally and to establish a reconciliation bureau locally. (TNIE)