The United Nations Organization (UNO) has taken note of the arrest of two human rights activists in Sri Lanka and recalled the Sri Lanka’s obligations towards the protection of human rights.

“On the arrests, yes, we’ve seen the reports, we are aware of them. And as you will recall, the Secretary-General and the President of Sri Lanka, in their 2009 joint statement, emphasized the importance of protection and promotion of human rights in keeping with international human rights standards and Sri Lanka’s international obligation,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York.

In a separate development The United States of America(USA)has called on the Sri Lankan Government to ensure the due legal process is provided to human rights activists Ruki Fernando and Reverend Father Praveen after they were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) last night.

The US Embassy in Colombo said that the US Government is concerned over the arrest of the two activists. It urged the Government to ensure the two activists have full access to a legal counsel.

“As we have noted many times in the recent past, both previous and on-going human rights concerns have led many in the international community to push for a UN Human Rights Council resolution on the situation in Sri Lanka. With these latest actions, we remain convinced that continued scrutiny by the Human Rights Council is necessary,” the Embassy said.