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LATEST UPDATE
The LLRC began its work in August 2010 by holding 20 public sittings in Vavuniya and Colombo, where 500 survivors testified on the final days of the civil war in the north of Sri Lanka. The public sittings ended in February 2011 following the final two public sittings in Matara and in Galle. In addition to public testimonies, the commission gathered evidence from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) leaders, army commanders and government officials, who were summoned to testify at the hearings.
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE PROCESSES
Updated in May 2011
Updated in November 2011
Sri Lanka
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- Category: Country
- Created on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 22:36
- Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
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In May 2009, a violent conflict between the Sinhalese government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), ended with the government declaring victory over the LTTE. The conflict lasted over 30 years and resulted in the deaths and internal displacement of hundreds of thousands. Gross human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and extrajudicial killings, were committed by both sides during the conflict.
There have been various transitional justice processes in Sri Lanka since 1977. In July 2001, the president appointed the Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence to examine a series of related incidents that occurred from 1981 to 1984. The commission released a report in 2002 but its recommendations were not implemented and its effect was minimal. (Read more about the Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence.)
The most recent truth-seeking body, the Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation, was established in May 2010. The commission commenced its work in August 2010, but has been criticised by domestic and international human rights groups as well as by the United States Congress for not being independent enough to investigate allegations of war crimes properly and for having too limited a remit. (Read more about the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission)
In June 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed a three-person panel of experts to advise him on issues relating to alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the Sri Lankan conflict, and especially on the implementation of the commitment on human rights accountability made in a joint statement issued by the secretary-general and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in May 2009. The panel released its final report on 31 March 2011, calling for an independent international investigation into the final months of the conflict. According to the report, in addition to both the army and the LTTE committing grave human rights violations, government forces deliberately prevented humanitarian assistance from reaching the civilian population in LTTE areas. The government has rejected the panel’s findings and denied responsibility for civilian deaths.