Ban Ki-moon has sent a message to President Rajapaksa government

The panel "had their first meeting in New York yesterday and will continue to meet with UN officials this week," the secretary general's spokesman Farhan Haq told BBC Sandeshaya.

"What they are doing is trying to see particularly judging from how other similar circumstances have been handled; how to deal with the question of accountability," he said.

Ban Ki-moon appointed the panel to advise him on how to deal with alleged perpetrators of abuses but the Sri Lankan government has strongly objected to the appointment.

'Most unfortunate'

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Prof GL Peiris said that the UN panel was "unnecessary" and the team would not be allowed to enter to Sri Lanka.

Everybody loses out if we cannot go to Sri Lanka, it will make it harder for the truth to be unearthed Marzuki Darusman, head of the panel

"The position of the Sri Lanka government is abundantly clear - we will not have them in this country," he said.

The UN has described the move to prevent the panel from entering the country as "most unfortunate".

"Everybody loses out if we cannot go to Sri Lanka, it will make it harder for the truth to be unearthed," former Indonesian attorney-general Marzuki Darusman - the head of the three-member panel - told BBC Sandeshaya.

UNSG's message

Meanwhile, Neil Buhne, the UN resident representative in Colombo has returned to the country from New York after having discussions with Ban ki-Moon.

	Mr. Buhne is to convey a message from Ban ki-moon to the government

Mr. Buhne was “recalled for consultations” after the “fast unto death” protest in front of the UN office in Colombo by Minister Wimal Weerawansa.

Mr. Buhne is to convey a special message by Ban ki-moon to the government, Farhan Haq said.

“The message Mr. Buhne will be conveying back is that the Secretary General wants to make sure, that UN staff will be able to carry out work without sort of further hindrance similar to what had happened few weeks back,” he told BBC Sandeshaya.

About 7,000 civilians died in the last five months of the war, the UN says.

Human rights organisations as well as the US state department has published records of alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan Military - and Tamil Tigers rebels who was militarily defeated last year.