Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have slammed the LLRC report's failure to address the most serious allegations of war crimes and call upon governments to call for an international investigation.
In a statement - 'Sri Lanka: Report Fails to Advance Accountability'- HRW stated,
"The report of the Sri Lankan government’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) disregards the worst abuses by government forces, rehashes longstanding recommendations, and fails to advance accountability for victims of Sri Lanka’s civil armed conflict."
"The LLRC report provides no realistic pathway for holding accountable military and government officials implicated in serious abuses."
Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director said,
“The commission’s failure to provide a road map for investigating and prosecuting wartime perpetrators shows the dire need for an independent, international commission.”
"The commission shockingly fails to call for any criminal investigations into artillery shelling of crowded areas in which tens of thousands of civilians died."
”It is clear that justice for conflict-related abuses is not going to happen within Sri Lanka’s domestic institutions,”
“The government has been playing for time by appointing the LLRC. That time has now run out.”
In statement - 'Sri Lanka report falls short' - Amnesty International stated,
"The final report of Sri Lanka’s Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), released publicly today, acknowledges serious human rights problems in Sri Lanka but falls short of fully addressing the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the final phases of the conflict between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam".
AI's Asia-Pacific director, Sam Zarifi, commented,
"where it appears to really falter is in ignoring the serious evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of the laws of war by government forces, even though the report highlights the serious and systematic violations committed by the LTTE.”
“There is a clear sign of the bias we had feared and already detected in the LLRC’s composition and conduct."
“The LLRC has admitted its own inability to establish the facts about the conduct of the fighting, and points out legal complexities beyond its abilities. This is why the international community must now follow up with an investigation, bringing to bear the full resources and assistance of the UN and the international community.”
