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(Geneva)– Sri Lanka Authorities have threatened and detained Tamils who commemorated those who died or went missing in the country’s civil war, Human Rights Watch said today. Report Calls for international prosecutions and other accountability measures to address thousands of unresolved cases of enforced disappearances during the war that ended on May 18, 2009.
“The Sri Lankan government denies the atrocities committed by its military during the civil war, so it seeks to silence the victims and their communities rather than provide truth, justice and reparations,” he said. Elaine PearsonAsia director at Human Rights Watch. “It is clear that more international action is needed to provide redress to victims and prevent further abuses.”
Ahead of the May 18 anniversary, police in northern and eastern Sri Lanka tried to disrupt commemorations. In Trincomalee, they detained four people Seven days in prison were imposed for offering “kanji,” a rice porridge that symbolizes the starvation suffered by many civilians at the end of the war. Authorities also obtained court orders prohibiting some relatives of forcibly disappeared persons and others from attending the event. In some places, police intervened to prevent events from taking place or to block people from entering the event.
In the final months of the 2009 war, the Sri Lankan military Bombing the “No Fire Zone” The Sri Lankan army killed tens of thousands of Tamil civilians, using civilians as human shields, while the retreating separatist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), used civilians as human shields. After the final defeat of the LTTE, the Sri Lankan army forcibly disappeared an unknown number of people; many are believed to be Extrajudicial killings.
Under international law, an enforced disappearance occurs when authorities arrest or detain a person and then refuse to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or to reveal that person’s fate or whereabouts.
May 17 United Nations Sri Lanka Accountability ProjectFounded in 2021 to collect evidence of international crimes for use in future prosecutions, it has published Report The International Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in Sri Lanka found that in 15 years, Sri Lanka had made “no substantive progress towards the realization of victims’ rights” and therefore “there remains a real risk of further enforced disappearances”.
Foreign governments should “use all available means” to pressure Sri Lankan authorities to ensure truth, justice and reparations for victims, the Accountability Project said. It also called for “the use of universal jurisdiction (in foreign courts) to investigate and prosecute” and “the imposition of targeted sanctions as appropriate.”
Under the legal principle of universal jurisdiction, countries can prosecute individuals for serious international crimes committed in other countries. While no countries have yet issued arrest warrants for enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka, prosecutors in several countries have contacted the Accountability Project seeking evidence that could support future cases.
Tens of thousands of people have “disappeared” in Sri Lanka since the 1970s, with around 90% believed to be Abducted by national security forcesThe Sri Lankan government has previously acknowledged that some 27,000 people were forcibly disappeared between 1988 and 1990 alone. Victims included people seen as members or supporters of armed opposition groups, journalists and human rights defenders.
Many relatives of the missing, often mothers and wives, have for years called on the government to provide information about the whereabouts of the missing and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. These relatives are often harassed and monitored by security and BroadCast Unitedligence agencies.
A woman seeks justice for her husband who disappeared in 2000. Tell Human Rights Watch 2023. “Since my husband was kidnapped, I have lost my freedom to carry out my daily activities… Even if I go to the market or the temple, (security agents) ask, ‘Where are you going?’”
In September 2023, a judge fled the country after receiving death threats after ordering an investigation into a recently discovered mass grave. In recent years, the commissioner of the Office of Missing Persons (the government agency responsible for determining the whereabouts of missing people) has included a former senior police officer who ran a unit accused of enforced disappearances.
Although the number of disappearances has declined in recent years, the practice remains entrenched in the security forces due to a lack of reform or accountability. The Attorney General asked Investigating evidence that police secretly detained a man, beat him and threatened to kill him in April.
The Sri Lankan government should immediately implement the UN report’s recommendations, including acknowledging the scale of enforced disappearances, conducting prompt and credible investigations, seeking international technical assistance to investigate mass graves, establishing an independent prosecutorial body, and repealing legislation that enables abuses, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch said foreign governments and UN agencies should also implement the report’s recommendations, including “using a variety of means” to pressure the Sri Lankan government to take action, providing technical assistance for exhumations, prosecuting abroad under universal jurisdiction, and conducting greater scrutiny of Sri Lankan personnel participating in UN peacekeeping operations. “Sri Lanka has a horrific record of enforced disappearances, causing great suffering to the families of victims and placing the country at risk of future violations,” Pearson said. “The UN Human Rights Council must renew the Sri Lanka Accountability Project’s mandate in September, and the Global Prosecutor must use the evidence gathered to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
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