Feb bruary 17, 2012

NGO Call on U.S. to Esta Os . ablish I International A Account tability y Mechanis on S Lanka at U Hum Rig M sm Sri UN man ghts Cou uncil
We are plea W ased to hear that the U r United States has decide to press for action a the Marc session o the s ed at ch of Human Rights Council on accoun H l ntability for wartime a r abuses in Sr Lanka. T ri This issue has long be a h een high priority for us due to the massive scale of abuses c h y e committed i the final months of the war and the in Sri Lankan g S government resistanc to any ser ts ce rious domes inquiry stic y. In Septembe UN Sec I er, cretary-General Ban Ki-moon ref K ferred to the President of the HR and the High e RC Commission the repo of his P C ner ort Panel of Exp perts, which finds con h nsiderable evidence of war crimes and s other abuses committed by both s o sides during the Sri L g Lankan civil war. Acc l cording to th report, u to he up 40,000 civilians were k 4 killed in the final five months of t war, ma e the ainly due to indiscrimi o inate shellin of ng civilian-pop c pulated area including hospitals and food d as, g distribution centers. The rebel gr roup LTTE used civilians as human shie c elds. A do ocumentary by UK's C Channel 4, S Lanka's Killing Fie Sri elds, release in ed June 2011, r J records som of the ab me buses throu graphic video of ex ugh xecutions a allegedly by the Sri La y ankan security forc s ces.

The UN Panel and international organizations have rejected a domestic mechanism, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), as inadequate and lacking the independence necessary to conduct an impartial and effective investigation of these abuses. The LLRC report issued in December made some helpful recommendations, but was dismissive of serious abuses by government forces and the need for accountability. Now is the time for the HRC to demonstrate its commitment to justice for victims and their families by taking effective action toward establishing an independent international accountability mechanism. This statement is endorsed by the following: Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA Karin D. Ryan, Director, Human Rights Program, The Carter Center Don Kraus, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens for Global Solutions Allison Garland, Project Coordinator, Democracy Coalition Project John C. Bradshaw, Executive Director, Enough Project Norma R. Gattsek, Government Relations Director, Feminist Majority Foundation Paula Schriefer, Vice President for Global Programs, Freedom House Tom Malinowski, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch E. Robert Goodkind, Chair, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights Kathryn Cameron Porter, Founder and President, Leadership Council for Human Rights Jerry Fowler, Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society Foundations Hans Hogrefe, Washington Director, Physicians for Human Rights BamaAthreya, Executive Director, United to End Genocide Aung Din, Executive Director, U.S. Campaign for Burma