A/HRC/22/38 them, and also to address alleged violations of international law, are examined in the present report. The report also draws on observations by an OHCHR technical mission to the country in September 2012.4 II. Engagement by the Office of the High Commissioner 5. On 24 February 2012, the High Commissioner met with the Minister for External Affairs of Sri Lanka, and offered the assistance of her Office in follow-up to and the implementation of the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. In her statement of 2 March 2012 made to the Human Rights Council at its nineteenth session, the High Commissioner encouraged the Government to engage with the special procedures and with her Office on the follow-up to the reports submitted by the Commission and the Panel of Experts. 6. Following the adoption by the Human Rights Council of resolution 19/2, the High Commissioner wrote to the Minister for External Affairs of Sri Lanka on 14 May 2012 to propose a visit by a delegation of OHCHR officials to Sri Lanka to explore possible areas of cooperation and assistance, and to help prepare the ground for an eventual country visit by the High Commissioner herself. 7. The OHCHR technical mission visited Sri Lanka from 13 to 21 September 2012, meeting with a wide range of Government counterparts, including ministers responsible for external affairs, economic development, defence, justice and plantation industries (the Minister for which portfolio is also the Special Envoy of the President on Human Rights). It also met with the official heading the committee tasked with overseeing the implementation of the national plan of action, the Attorney General, various political leaders within the Government and the opposition, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, civil society representatives, the diplomatic corps and the United Nations country team. The mission also visited field locations in Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya, meeting with the heads of the civil administration, local military commanders, regional coordinators of the Human Rights Commission and United Nations colleagues. On 26 November 2012, the High Commissioner wrote to the Minister for External Affairs to express her appreciation for the Government’s efforts in facilitating the visit and to propose possible areas of technical cooperation between OHCHR and the Government in follow-up to Human Rights Council resolution 19/2. The Minister replied to the High Commissioner on 17 December 2012 (see paragraphs 57-60 below). III. Engagement by human rights mechanisms 8. There are currently eight outstanding requests to visit Sri Lanka by special procedures mandate holders: on minority issues; freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; freedom of opinion and expression; extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; enforced or involuntary disappearances; human rights defenders; independence of judges and lawyers; and discrimination against women in law and practice. At the time of writing, none of these visits had been agreed to by the Government. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, on 26 July 2012, the Independent Expert on minority issues, on 7 January 2013, and the Special Rapporteur on 4 4 In accordance with established practice, the Government of Sri Lanka provided its comments and observations on the draft report, which were taken into account, as appropriate. At the request of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka, the observations of the Government on the draft report are circulated as an addendum to the present report (A/HRC/22/38/Add.1).