Human rights organisations slam report, urge world to act
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have slammed the LLRC report's failure to address the most serious allegations of war crimes and call upon governments to call for an international investigation.
In a statement - 'Sri Lanka: Report Fails to Advance Accountability'- HRW stated,
"The report of the Sri Lankan government’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) disregards the worst abuses by government forces, rehashes longstanding recommendations, and fails to advance accountability for victims of Sri Lanka’s civil armed conflict."
"The LLRC report provides no realistic pathway for holding accountable military and government officials implicated in serious abuses."
Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director said,
“The commission’s failure to provide a road map for investigating and prosecuting wartime perpetrators shows the dire need for an independent, international commission.”
"The commission shockingly fails to call for any criminal investigations into artillery shelling of crowded areas in which tens of thousands of civilians died."
”It is clear that justice for conflict-related abuses is not going to happen within Sri Lanka’s domestic institutions,”
“The government has been playing for time by appointing the LLRC. That time has now run out.”