The South African Human Rights Commission has asked the government to explain why its UN Representative voted against a call for an international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka during eelam war IV.

Commission Chairperson Jody Kollapen has written to International Relations and Cooperation MInister Maite Nkoane-Mashabane, asking why the position taken by the SA Representative at the UN Human Rights Council differed from the government position.

South Africa was among 29 countries which helped Sri Lanka to thwart an EU-led attempt to target Sri Lankan political and military leadership over the recently concluded war against the LTTE.

Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Uruguay, Zambia, too, backed Sri Lanka.