The UN today denounced Sri Lanka's slow pace in addressing war crimes and warned that it may derail the momentum towards lasting peace and econciliation with the minority Tamil community. The UN human rights office also asked the country to appoint international judges to investigate allegations of rights violations. The remarks came at the launch of a report in Geneva on Sri Lanka's progress in addressing crimes committed during the country's three-decade-long civil war that ended in 2009. <br/><br/>The report comes a day after Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said he had the guts to dismiss the UN demand seeking foreign judges to probe the alleged war crimes. At the same time, the report hailed the government for advancing on constitutional reforms and showcasing some positive developments on the broader human rights agenda.<br/>'<br/>UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein will formally present the report to the Human Rights Council on the 22nd of this month in Geneva. According to the UN figures, up to 40,000 civilians were killed by the security forces during former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime that brought the civil war to an end by defeating the LTTE.<br/><br/>