24 July 2014
The government has decided to invite three eminent international legal experts on human rights and war crimes to advise its Commission of Inquiry into Missing Persons. The team of experts is headed by Sir Desmond de Silva, Queen’s Counsel, a prominent British lawyer and a former Chief War Crimes Prosecutor at the UN Tribunal for Sierra Leone, who is also of Sri Lankan origin. It will also include Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice, a British lawyer who headed the trial of Slobodan Milosevic at the international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague; and Professor David Crane of the United State who was the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
They will serve on an Advisory Council to the Commission of Inquiry to advise it on matters pertaining to the work of the Commission. In addition, the government has expanded the mandate of the Commission on Missing Persons to include the loss of civilian life during the war and violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law. They will also inquire into whether there was adherence to or neglect of the principles of distinction, military necessity and proportionality under the laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law, by the Sri Lankan armed forces and LTTE.
The National Peace Council has consistently stood for a national process that upholds international standards as the way forward. At the same time there is a need to be mindful of its experience with another commission of inquiry in the past. This was the International Independent Eminent Group of Persons (IIEGP) which was appointed in 2007 to advise the Commission of Inquiry into Serious Human Rights Violations. The IIGEP was headed by P N Bhagwati, former Indian Chief Justice, but a year later decided to terminate its operations in Sri Lanka. According to a statement issued by the IIGEP, "The IIGEP is of the opinion that there has not been the minimum level of trust necessary for the success of the work of the commission and the IIGEP."
The National Peace Council welcomes any governmental effort to achieve international standards in looking at the past. There is also an equivalent need to reach those standards in dealing with issues of governance within the country at the present time. The government has also been restricting the freedom of civil society groups in a manner that goes counter to international standards. Most significant of all is its failure to stand by its commitments with regard to the devolution of power. This is a serious problem as a reconciliation process cannot run on separate tracks, where internationally the government shows itself to be a in a reconciliatory mode, while within the country there is confrontation and antagonism and a shrinking of space for civil society and print and electronic media. The situation on the ground will be seen by all who are interested in Sri Lanka and will undermine their belief in the sincerity of the reconciliation process.
Governing Council
The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.
The National Peace Council welcomes any governmental effort to achieve international standards in looking at the past. There is also an equivalent need to reach those standards in dealing with issues of governance within the country at the present time. The government has also been restricting the freedom of civil society groups in a manner that goes counter to international standards. Most significant of all is its failure to stand by its commitments with regard to the devolution of power. This is a serious problem as a reconciliation process cannot run on separate tracks, where internationally the government shows itself to be a in a reconciliatory mode, while within the country there is confrontation and antagonism and a shrinking of space for civil society and print and electronic media. The situation on the ground will be seen by all who are interested in Sri Lanka and will undermine their belief in the sincerity of the reconciliation process.
Governing Council
The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.
