By Garvin Karunaratne

Navaneetahn‚  Pillai, the Head of UN Human Rights is reported to be utilizing‚  the United Nations-â„¢ Report by a Panel appointed by the UN Secretary General comprising Marzuki Darrusman, Steven Rattner and Yasmin‚  Sooka in her submission against Sri Lanka-â„¢s human rights record at the UNHCR in September 2013

Any Report submitted to the UNHCR should be valid beyond doubt. However this Report drafted at the request of the UN Secretary General stands totally discredited due to the character‚  of two of its three members.

Marzook Darusman should never have been on the panel,‚  purely because he had served on an earlier IIGEP(International Independent Group of Eminent Persons) in Sri Lanka where he had been unauthorisedly high handed and had abruptly left the Investigation

The‚  IIGEP of which Darusman was a member was even accused‚ ‚  by the Attorney General of Sri Lanka of interfering with the legal system of Sri Lanka and specifically on the IIGEP visiting the Kantalai Magistrate and making inquiries on the on going murder case of the 17 aid workers, which the IIGEP was not authorized to do.(Tamil Guardian;4/7/3007)‚  The eminent persons on this investigation had been acting in an unauthorized manner, amounting to interfere and influence the judicial process in a sovereign country. In actuality the correct action that should have been taken by the Government was to cancel the Investigation immediately and to order the eminent persons to be deported. Sri Lanka is today paying the price for not taking such deterrent action.

Any investigation held on Sri Lanka by a person who is biased and not well disposed towards Sri Lanka stands totally discredited.

Steven Rattner

In‚  the New York Pension Fund Investigation, when Quadrangle and a dozen other investment firms were investigated by the US Securities & Exchange Commission, Steven Rattner‚  had to pay $ 6.2 million as a settlement to stop the investigation.,(SEC Settles with Steven Rattner over kickbacks:‚  Cuomo Files New Lawsuits in Bloomberg, Nov 18,2010)

It is also important to note that Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Attorney General demanded more severe penalties from Steven Rattner(Steven Rattner is said to settle pension case, in The New York Times, Oct 13, 2010)

Inn Dec2010, Rattner reached a settlement with Andrew Cuomo to pay $ 10 million in restitution but no fines or penalties(Rattner to pay # 10 million in settlement with Cuomo, The New York Times, Dec 30,2010)

These facts reflect the character of Steven Rattner. A person with such a dubious tainted record finding a place in any‚  investigations, automatically negates its findings.‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ 

Thus of the three persons on the Panel, two Marzook Darrusman and‚  Steven Rattner stands totally discredited and any report written by them or any report where they have played any role should not be accepted as genuine and valid. While Darrusman was prejudiced against Sri Lanka, in the case of Steven Ratner the case is that he alleged to have made irregular dealings , having to buy his way out of investigations and‚  thus stands tainted as a person who can be bought over.

It was definitely wrong on the part of the Secretary General of the United Nations to appoint such biased and tainted persons to a Panel of Experts.

Thus it is improper for the Human Rights Council to accept such a Report as evidence.

Though the UN Secretary General has called them experts, the above facts which disclose their character necessitates that the UN Human Rights Council should reject considering such a tainted report.

Garvin Karunaratne,

Former member of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service,

22/9/2013