Stop-Torture-Report

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accountability of any kind domestically for any past violations. The last domestic initiative that involved an international component - the Commission of Inquiry into 16 cases, including the massacre of the ACF aid workers and the murder of five Trincomalee students in 2006 – was an abject failure, primarily due to serious witness protection issues. The 11 members of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) who had been invited by the President to observe his "independent" commission and to ensure that the commission conducted its investigations according to international norms and standards, all resigned in early 2008 for a number of reasons, the most important of which was that it was of their view that the commission had repeatedly failed to meet international norms and standards. One of the key concerns of IIGEP was the role of the Attorney General, who played the role of chief legal adviser to the army, police and President and was thus in a conflict of interest, especially when the commission was tasked to investigate why the initial investigations into the 16 cases were failures in the first place and the Attorney General's office was involved in those investigations. Throughout its mandate, IIGEP attempted but failed to have officers of the Attorney General’s office removed from the inner workings of the commission. Furthermore, an accountability mechanism, whether in the form of a ‘Truth Recovery’ process and/or criminal prosecutions located in Sri Lanka, presents serious problems for witnesses’ safety, not just during the process, but after it concludes its work. In addition most of those who testified to the UN OISL Inquiry are offshore and would not want to return to the country to be part of a process there unless their safety and that of their families was guaranteed. In the current climate of ongoing violations and reprisals that is impossible. The context of Sri Lanka is different from the context of other countries in transition as many of the alleged perpetrators and their authority structures are still in place, still wielding power or great influence, still allegedly committing ongoing violations, and still for the most part Sinhalese. The Rajapaksa and the Sirisena governments have both refused cooperation with the UN OISL Inquiry. The pattern of recalcitrance and complete state sponsored denial of any wrongdoing has resulted in the international community lowering the standards for government cooperation. 124
Given these past experiences, UN agencies and international NGO's should not be seduced once again into offering technical assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka to establish a domestic accountability mechanism in the current climate of grave ongoing violations, especially if there is no independent robust, empowered and fully funded international accountability system in place. The failure to address accountability is not due to a lack of technical expertise but rather one of political will. Thus an accountability mechanism based in Sri Lanka creates the real risk of needlessly putting witnesses’ lives in peril, without establishing the truth or securing justice for them. As IGGEP put it, “international standards call for a separation between commissions of inquiry and those agencies or persons who may be the subject of such investigations or inquiries”. It is difficult to see how a government comprised of civilian and military figures in positions of responsibility at the time the crimes were committed can investigate itself impartially while still intimidating witnesses and committing fresh violations. Standards Required In the current environment of persecution of victims and witnesses any hybrid justice mechanism must be established on the basis of the highest international standards that guarantee complete independence and are monitored very closely. It would need to have at a minimum the following: - A President of the court and a court composed of an equal number of international judges, international prosecutors, international investigators and international witness protection experts (with an effective program being developed to meet the unique situation in Sri Lanka and management experts with law enforcement-style powers of protection of witnesses and their families) working in partnership with local Judges, prosecutors, investigators and experts in order to ensure that it is truly hybrid. In order to ensure that decisions do not become hostage to the composition of the court, the President of such a court should be an international. Both the internationals and the locals should be the subject of a genuinely independent screening and vetting process comprising the 125
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A Still Unfinished War: Sri Lanka
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Contents Executive Summary 5 Acknow
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Executive Summary This report paint
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The report is based on: - 180 cases
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I.Political Context Total impunity
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Meanwhile Sri Lanka faces parliamen
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All witnesses interviewed by ITJP w
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III .Narrative 180 cases of post-wa
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the end of the war had been further
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national authorities put in place t
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apprehend the perpetrators, while c
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the case study in this report on th
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even after our report in March 2014
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extraordinary spirit of survival in
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2014 Arbitrary Detention, Torture a
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uttons of my blouse. My breasts wer
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Post Presidential Election 2015 Cas
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Media reports said a special police
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efore he had managed to desert. In
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(Witness 117) His expert medical re
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(Witness 122) On arrival in the UK
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“I am unable to sleep properly, e
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“They are trying to come to terms
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B. Identified Torture Sites, Comman
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From our evidence, it is clear that
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(Witness 70) The Forward Maintenanc
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this time because if the Government
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8 17 47 9 2 Jaffna 14 3 1 Elephant
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Note on Iniya Bharathi’s office i
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“An army officer came to my tent
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Key to Map of Joseph Camp 1 Male In
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Joseph Camp Organisation Joseph Cam
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Sexual Torture Of the 14 witnesses
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In addition, ITJP is in possession
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A female witness saw the Major when
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“I witnessed the security forces
Page 73 and 74: (Witness 42) Some witness were deta
Page 75 and 76: a vehicle and let her go on the roa
Page 77 and 78: Case Study 3: Secret Torture Site:
Page 79 and 80: including to the navy who denied an
Page 81 and 82: Two recent media reports refer to a
Page 83 and 84: At the Embassies in some overseas c
Page 85 and 86: “There were reports that authorit
Page 87 and 88: However, in the majority of cases w
Page 89 and 90: 2009 to document and keep tabs on a
Page 91 and 92: Many witnesses told us that the sec
Page 93 and 94: “In every letter my mum has menti
Page 95 and 96: to attend the opening ceremony. The
Page 97 and 98: as a result of the PM's visit, neit
Page 99 and 100: stop. The petrol bag was repeated t
Page 101 and 102: close members of her family abducte
Page 103 and 104: The Extensive Use of Informers Many
Page 105 and 106: the Tamil collaborators they encoun
Page 107 and 108: these orders. Several have given tr
Page 109 and 110: Persecution of Family Members One o
Page 111 and 112: “Around 4 people on a motorbike c
Page 113 and 114: “Military intelligence has come t
Page 115 and 116: much she had to be taken to hospita
Page 117 and 118: (Witness 91, speaking in 2015) Ther
Page 119 and 120: “Since I left Sri Lanka the CID a
Page 121 and 122: This pattern, as set out in detail
Page 123: with command responsibility as well
Page 127 and 128: - Interpreters of an internationall
Page 129 and 130: VI. Recommendations Call to UN Secr
Page 131 and 132: The European Union: Subject to witn
Page 133 and 134: “In Sri Lanka there is a mytholog
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