Sri Lanka will counter the charges of human rights violation during the final phase of its military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), at the UN Human Rights Council sessions beginning on Monday in Geneva, media reports said.

Indian media, citing Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry sources, say that Sri Lankan Ambassador in Geneva Ravinatha Ariyasinha is to make a counter statement on the human rights allegations against the country.

This will be the first session of the UN rights body after the adoption of Sri Lanka resolution in March which called for an independent international investigation on the alleged rights abuses in Sri Lanka during the last phase of the military campaign against the LTTE in May 2009.

According to reports, an advance copy of the new rights chief Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’ statement has been obtained by the local media. It reportedly says: “I encourage the Sri Lankan authorities to cooperate with the process in the interests of justice and reconciliation. I am alarmed at threats currently being levelled against the human rights community in Sri Lanka.”

However, Sri Lanka has vowed not to cooperate with the investigation including the refusal to grant visas to the UN investigators.