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Probe on alleged war crimes: Domestic mechanism being finalised, says Acting FM
The legal process for a domestic probe into alleged war crimes is being drafted, Acting Foreign Minister Ajith Perera said yesterday. He said the inquiry would not include international investigators or prosecutors. The process would be finalised by end of August, ahead of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) sessions in September, he said.
“This is not Sierra Leone to have such kind of international investigations. With the passing of the 19th Amendment, the independence of the judiciary has been revived and the whole process will be purely local,” he said.
His disclosure came after an international human rights watch dog — the Human Rights Watch (HRW), — said that Sri Lanka should ensure genuine consultations with those affected by violations, enhance the security and independence of the process “through a mechanism with a majority of international judges and prosecutors.”
“If it is a domestic mechanism it has to be a local process,” Mr. Perera said. Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that before formulating the local mechanism, the government was awaiting the recommendations from the experts panel appointed to support the Presidential Commission Investigating Cases of Missing Persons (PCICMP).
The experts panel headed by Sir. Desmond de Silva, Q.C. includes two other internationally prominent lawyers — Avdash Kaushal, and Ahmer Bilal Soofi. They were appointed by the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to advice the commission on the legal affairs and humanitarian laws.
This week the UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein addressing the 29th session of the Human Rights council in Geneva said his office “will remain very engaged in discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on the need for transparent and inclusive processes to develop credible mechanisms for accountability and reconciliation, ahead of my report to the September session.”
The President’s International Affairs Advisor Jayantha Dhanapala this week explained to the Colombo-based diplomatic community that a domestic mechanism was in the making in consultation with local and international experts to investigate allegations of human rights violations and violation of humanitarian laws.
“In addition to that, we have completely restructured our approach to the subject of human rights. For instance, the way the end of the conflict was remembered on May 18 was radically changed”, he said.
Mr. Dhanapala said the Government was currently engaged in the truth seeking process through the existing commission headed by Maxwell Paranagama and technical assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“An interim report from the Paranagama commission was also submitted to the president. We will inform the people of this country at the right time on the domestic mechanism that is being developed. We can’t disclose those details at this time,” he said.