International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in a statement issued recently, said a bill gazetted by Sri Lanka to establish a Commission for Truth, Unity, and Reconciliation, "lacks credibility and is unlikely to bring accountability". The ICJ cited it is concerned the lack of consultation with victim communities and the continued neglect of their long-standing demands deprives the bill of its legitimacy.
The Commission was meant to be a tool that will pave the way for transitional justice and advance accountability for perpetrators bringing justice to victims and survivors of the armed conflict, according to the ICJ. However the bill suffers a lack of transparency regarding the consultation process and non-acceptance by communities affected during war, it added.
Tamils have repeatedly rejected the bill and instead have called for an international accountability mechanism.
“Considering the repressive political climate in Sri Lanka, and the absence of the conditions that are necessary to ensure the success of the proposed Commission for Truth, Unity, and Reconciliation, the Bill appears to be more of a legislative manoeuvre aimed at deflecting the attention of the Human Rights Council and removing Sri Lanka from further scrutiny rather than a genuine accountability measure,” said Melissa Upreti, ICJ’s Asia Director.
The ICJ finds that the Bill would empower the Attorney General (AG) to prosecute cases where the commission makes a finding of responsibility, however, the ICJ is concerned that the actions of the AG’s department in the past including the mishandling of cases relating to human rights violation and inaction of others have caused a trust deficit which will likely continue.
The Bill provides that appointments to the commission will be made by the President upon recommendation of the Constitutional Council, however in reality the ruling party holds the majority in the Constitutional Council and any recommendations will be subjected to political pressures. In light of these realities, the ICJ questioned if these arrangements are conducive to creating a commission that is independent and equally representative of both gender and ethnicity.
Existing transitional justice institutions such as the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) and the Office for Reparations have been ineffective, it noted. As underscored by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OMP has failed to earn the trust of victims and their representatives. As recently observed by the High Commissioner, there has been little to no development regarding cases of past human rights violations and abuses.
“The victims of Sri Lanka’s 26-year armed conflict, replete with atrocities, have been forced to wait too long to learn the truth about their loved ones and to be granted justice. When the UN Human Rights Council considers a new resolution on Sri Lanka later this year, it must avoid blind acceptance of Sri Lanka’s flawed transitional justice process and institutions and adopt an approach that genuinely puts the interests of victims and survivors first,” added Upreti.
The draft bill which was gazetted on January 1 this year comes at a time when there exists a climate of impunity for past human rights violations, abuses, and intimidation of victim communities affected by the armed conflict. Only recently the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka issued a statement expressing grave concern about the Yukthiya Police Islandwide crackdown to combat drug trafficking.
