A report released today on Sri Lanka  - An Unfinished War: Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka, 2009 - 2014 - concludes that "abduction, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and sexual violence has increased in the post-war period" against Tamil people by Sri Lankan security forces and there was "a prima facie case of post-war crimes against humanity by the Sri Lankan security forces, with respect to (a) torture and (b) rape and sexual violence."

Describing the violations carried out by the Sri Lankan security forces as "widespread and systematic", the report also concluded that the violations "occur in a manner that indicates a coordinated, systematic plan approved by the highest levels of government."

Outlining the Sri Lankan government's failure to deliver justice, the authors called for an independent international inquiry at the UNHRC, and called upon the UN Security Council "to refer this report, which indicates reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity are occurring in Sri Lanka to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for further action against those who bear the greatest responsibility". As an alternative, the authors urged the ICC Prosecutor to "explore the cases of individuals who bear the greatest responsibility and who hold a nationality of a State Party to the Rome Statute."

See full report here.

Produced by human rights lawyer and co-author of the UN Panel of Experts report on mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, Yasmin Sooka, as well as the UK Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) and the International Truth & Justice Project, Sri Lanka, the report draws on testimonies, medical examinations and psychiatric assessments from 40 victims - Tamil men and women who had sought asylum in the UK.

All the testimonies relate to incidents that having taken place since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, with more than half having taken place in the last two years, and some as recently as February 2014.

"The cases of torture, rape and sexual violence described in this report are just a small sample of those crimes likely to have been committed against Tamils," said Yasmin Sooka.

"The international community must act now otherwise such atrocities will continue to define post-conflict Sri Lanka."

The report is due to be formally launched later today, at the Canadian High Commission in London.

Key findings of the report:

• Abduction, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and sexual violence have increased in the post-war period. Targeted for these violations are LTTE suspects, or those perceived as having been connected to, or supporters of, the LTTE. The purported aim is to extract confessions and/or information about the LTTE and to punish them for any involvement with the organisation.

• These widespread and systematic violations by the Sri Lankan security forces occur in a manner that indicates a coordinated, systematic plan approved by the highest levels of government. Members of the Sri Lankan security forces are secure in the knowledge that no action will be taken against them.

• This report establises a prima facie case of post-war crimes against humanity by the Sri Lankan security forces, with respect to (a) torture and (b) rape and sexual violence.

Extracts from the victims' testimony reproduced below:

Witness 14, Male

“He raped me by forcing his penis in my anus and in my mouth. He
was very violent. I was angry and would try to fight him. I begged
him not to. He said that the Tamil’s people’s mouths were only
good for oral sex.“

Witness 18, Male:

“The door to where the women were kept was lightly open. I saw a female cadre lying on her back on the floor. She was totally naked. I clearly saw a soda bottle shoved inside her vagina. Her arms were spread out wide, as were her legs. The door was not open enough to see the other two girls. I could not tell if the girl or the others were alive. None of them was making any sound and the girl I saw was not moving.”

Witness 25, Female:

“They took off my blindfold and gag and untied my hands. I was alone. I could hear other women screaming in pain and I believed at first that it was a special detention centre for women. When I was moved to a second room, I started hearing men crying and screaming as well, night and day. The women screamed the Tamil word ‘Amma’ - or ‘mother’. I could also hear other male voices that were angry and using swear words in Sinhala and there was a banging noise coming from the same direction.”

Witness 20, Male:

“They hung me upside down, three times. They tied my feet together with strings, and attached them to a hook on the roof of the interrogation room. The strings injured my feet and ankles. They then burnt dried red chilli on a rusty metal basin placed on the floor about three feet from my face. I thought I was suffocating. The irritation of my eyes was very bad. I could not breathe. On the third time I gave in and told them that I had been in the LTTE."

Witness 27, Male:

“A soldier called me into his room. He looked like he was an officer. He must have been quite high-level as he had stars on his shoulder. I can’t remember how many. He also had a yellow cord hanging from his shoulder. He had a different uniform - the pockets and badges were different. His uniform was smarter. His room had a table and a cushioned chair. There was the Sri Lankan flag on the table. “

 

Witness 37, Male:

“He used one hand to squeeze my neck while I was standing and then he reached down with his other hand and squeezed my penis and testicles. He told me “you are a Tamil dog and should not have any future generations”. He squeezed hard and it caused me terrible pain. He told me to hold his penis. When I refused he slapped me and told me “Tamil dog you will be dead if you do not hold it”. In fear I held it. … On one occasion one of the army guards came in and urinated on me. While doing so he told me, “you Tamils need a separate state. If you want a separate state you will have to take a bath in our urine.”