Amnesty International (AI) in a statement issued on November 17, 2006 has stated that it has “confirmed to the government of Sri Lanka, in response to their request that it is not in a position to nominate anyone to stand as a candidate for the Commission of Inquiry and International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP).”
The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes AI’s principled position on this matter and hopes that all other international experts invited to join this group will follow this example and keep out of the IIGEP.
AI further states:
“In light of decades of impunity for perpetrators of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Sri Lanka, characterised by the failure of the authorities to investigate and prosecute such perpetrators effectively, only an international and independent Commission would have the credibility and confidence of all parties to the conflict and sections of society to be able to conduct meaningful investigations, obtain critical testimony or information from witnesses and gain the acceptance of its recommendations by all relevant parties. To this end, members of the body conducting the inquiry should be international experts, chosen for their recognised impartiality, integrity and competence. Crucially, they should be, and be seen to be, independent of any institution, agency or individual that may be the subject of, or otherwise involved in, the inquiry, including the Government of Sri Lanka. Amnesty International does not believe that an independent group of eminent persons observing an essentially national inquiry can serve as a substitute for the independence, real and perceived, of the Commission of Inquiry itself. Amnesty International therefore calls on the President of Sri Lanka to:
- Add independent, impartial and competent international experts to the proposed Col;
- Ensure that the Col s work is developed in consultation with a representative profile of civil society, including NGOs;
- Ensure that the Col will assess the information collected in light of relevant provisions of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as well as relevant Sri Lankan laws;
- Ensure the safeguarding of the Col s independence, access to all relevant persons and information, accessibility to the public, protection of witnesses, and full discretion as to its mode of operation and publication of interim and other reports;
- Ensure that the Cols recommendations are carefully considered with a view to their full implementation.
Unless the Col is established and allowed to function under these standards, the organization believes that the Col will not be able to function as an investigative body that would address violations of international law in a meaningful way, as required by international standards.
Further, Amnesty International is concerned that the current terms of reference for the IIGEP would undermine its independence, effectiveness and ability to publish its reports at its own discretion, as detailed below.”
The Asian Human Rights Commission, closely following the situation regarding complaints of gross violations of human rights, has come to be aware that the government’s policy at the moment is to prevent any form of serious investigations into any such complaints on the basis that the morale of the soldiers and the police should not in any way be disturbed at the present time. The government media is working on the instructions that all forms of criticism of the military and the police should be avoided.
Under these circumstances the appointment of commissions to inquire into abductions, disappearances and extrajudicial killings is only a public relations exercise which is not meant to be pursued seriously. In fact, under similar situations other governments in the region have been acting in a similar manner, like for example the appointment of the Melo Commission by the government of the Philippines which is under severe pressure locally and internationally to stop the large scale extrajudicial killings that are taking place in the country.
The addition of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons in Sri Lanka is nothing more that a ploy to add some respectability to a government sponsored commission which lacks credibility locally as well as internationally.
As the violence in the country escalates and the loss of life is ever increasing and all basic rule of law functions have been paralysed what is needed is to rupture the war psychology that is maintained by the state and to create space for greater rational understanding of the process and creating some paths to end the violence and impunity.
These are times when the international community needs to show its wisdom and insight into the internal conflict where all parties to the conflict want to avoid scrutiny and transparency. It is hoped that the international community will prove capable of understanding the profound implications of having a credible human rights monitoring and investigation mechanism as urgently as possible. The AHRC has earlier expressed concern that Sri Lanka may prove to be another of the countries in which delayed action on the part of the international community has lead to catastrophe. We hope that the insights shown by AI into the present situation will lead to further serious reflections and interventions on the part of others.
