A 2002 cease-fire with ethnic Tamil separatists collapsed almost two years ago, and more than 5,000 people have died in the renewed fighting. Additionally, US-based Human Rights Watch reports that more than 1,100 abductions or "disappearances" were reported between January 2006 and June 2007, many blamed on the government and its armed allies.

On Saturday, Arbour decried "the weakness of the rule of law and prevalence of impunity" in Sri Lanka. She implicitly endorsed the idea of sending a UN rights monitoring group, which the Sri Lanka government has rejected.

"An international human rights presence in Sri Lanka would be an important step in improving human rights, accountability, and the rule of law, and ultimately resolving the conflict in Sri Lanka," McCormack said yesterday.

The Sri Lankan government contends it has adequate rights protections in place, including a national rights advisory panel.

Four of the 10 members of the panel quit on Saturday because they said their advice was ignored, and the government used the existence of the panel as proof that it cares about its people's human rights.

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