COLOMBO, Sept. 8 -- Sri Lanka on Monday (8) rejected calls for international accountability initiatives, telling the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that domestic mechanisms are sufficient to address reconciliation and human rights concerns.

Delivering Sri Lanka's national statement at the Council's 60th Session in Geneva, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, who also oversees Foreign Employment and Tourism, said external mechanisms such as the Sri Lanka Accountability Project would "only serve to create divisions and jeopardize genuine national efforts already underway."

"The government is fully cognizant of the responsibility that accompanies the unprecedented mandate it has received from the people," Herath said, adding, "We ...