Commenting on Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), the International Crisis Group stated the conclusions were ‘untenable’ and called on the international community to lead efforts to bring about an international independent investigation into war crimes on the island.
Noting that Sri Lanka is ‘neither willing nor able to carry out impartial and effective investigations’ as the recommendations of the LLRC stated, the ICG stated the report,
Noting that Sri Lanka is ‘neither willing nor able to carry out impartial and effective investigations’ as the recommendations of the LLRC stated, the ICG stated the report,
“fails in a crucial task – providing the thorough and independent investigation of alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law that the UN and other partners of Sri Lanka have been asking for.”They went on to say,
“the report works to exonerate the government and undermine its own limited calls for further inquiry”
“The responsibility now falls on the international community to take up the task of ensuring post-war accountability, beginning with a formal discussion of the LLRC report and the UN Secretary-General’s panel report at the March 2012 session of the UN Human Rights Council, leading to an independent international mechanism to investigate all credible allegations and to monitor domestic efforts at accountability.”The statement, released Thursday also noted that,
“Without such an investigation, accountability for the crimes committed at the end of the civil war is highly unlikely; without accountability, and a full understanding of the nature of the violations which took place on all sides, the seeds of future conflict will grow.”See the full text of the statement here.
