DHAKA: UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has sharply criticised the government of Sri Lanka, at the end of a week-long visit.

In a statement, Pillay said she feared the country was becoming increasingly authoritarian, reports the BBC.

Since the civil war ended four years ago, democracy had been undermined and the rule of law eroded, she added.

Pillay is the most senior UN official to visit the north since Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009.

She arrived in Sri Lanka last Sunday for a fact-finding mission after the government promised her access to former war zones.

She told reporters then that her job was to ensure that the government was conforming to human rights standards agreed by all nations.

BDST: 1658 HRS, AUG 31, 2013
RoR/RK