Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09COLOMBO722
2009-07-22 07:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

SRI LANKA: HUMAN RIGHTS INQUIRY (COI) DISBANDED;

Tags:  PGOV PREL PREF PHUM PTER EAID MOPS CE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3178
PP RUEHBI
DE RUEHLM #0722/01 2030702
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 220702Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0257
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1794
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 8807
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 7046
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5057
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3181
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 5015
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 1294
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0555
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 4122
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 9401
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 6703
RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO 1220
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3636
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000722 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM PTER EAID MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: HUMAN RIGHTS INQUIRY (COI) DISBANDED;
NO REAL RESULTS

REF: A. 08 COLOMBO 000551

B. 08 COLOMBO 000493

C. 08 COLOMBO 000344

D. 08 COLOMBO 000264

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JAMES R. MOORE. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000722

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM PTER EAID MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: HUMAN RIGHTS INQUIRY (COI) DISBANDED;
NO REAL RESULTS

REF: A. 08 COLOMBO 000551

B. 08 COLOMBO 000493

C. 08 COLOMBO 000344

D. 08 COLOMBO 000264

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JAMES R. MOORE. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) The GSL in mid-June disbanded the Presidential
Commission of Inquiry, which hadbeen charged with
investigating allegations of srious human rights violations
since August 2005. Seventeen cases were being reviewed by
the COI, ncluding the killing of 17 Action Contre la Faim
(ACF) aid workers and the killing of 5 young men in
Trincomalee in the summer of 2006. The COI, chaired by
former Supreme Court Justice Nissanka Udalagama, had
investigated only seven of the cases in its mandate, and had
not identified any of the perpetrators. An attorney who
participated in the COI proceedings told POL FSN that the COI
was disbanded because of its slow rate of progress, the high
financial costs involved, and the withdrawal of the
International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP).
(Note: The IIGEP, tasked with observing the local
commission, resigned in April 2008 after concluding that the
COI was not adhering to international standards and that the
GSL lacked the political will to properly pursue the
investigations (ref d). End Note.) Justice Udalagama told
Reuters in mid-July that the COI was unable to complete its
mandate because it could not collect video conference
testimony from witnesses abroad (ref a) and because of the
lack of witness protection legislation (ref b). (Note: The
Presidential Secretariat ordered the suspension of all video
testimony to the COI in June 2008 pending the passage of new
witness protection and victim assistance legislation, which
remains stalled in parliament. End Note.) There are no
pending court proceedings involving any of the 17 cases,
according to a civil society lawyer involved in the COI
process.


2. (C) Local press in mid-July reported that the COI
submitted a final report and recommendations to President
Mahinda Rajapaksa on July 3. The report has not been made
public. According to press accounts, the report exonerates
the Army and Navy in the ACF case and suggests that the
killings could have been carried out by Muslim Home Guards or
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. (Note: A University
Teachers of Human Rights (Jaffna) report from April 2008
identified police, Muslim Home Guard, and Special Task Force
members as the likely perpetrators and corresponded in large
part with the conclusions of the IIGEP and other Embassy
contacts (ref c). End Note.) After these press accounts of
the final report, ACF issued a statement on July 18 that said
"the Sri Lankan government obviously lacks the will to
establish the truth," and reiterated its call for an
international inquiry into the incident. Justice Udalagama
countered publicly that ACF had no reason to call for an
international inquiry, since it had failed to participate in
the COI's investigatory process. ACF withdrew from Sri Lanka
in March 2008, citing a lack of confidence in the
government's investigation into the killings.

3. (U) In its final report, the COI reportedly recommended
the establishment of a permanent independent commission to
investigate serious violations of human rights, claiming that
existing institutions are overburdened. It also recommended
training for security force personnel in the protection of
civilians in times of armed conflict. The COI reportedly
noted that initial police investigations into the cases it
reviewed lacked "any semblance of professionalism" and called
for training in human rights and international humanitarian
law for the police.

4. (C) COMMENT: This COI now joins a long list of previous
presidential commissions that have failed to achieve their

COLOMBO 00000722 002 OF 002


mandates. The government's failure to provide the Commission
with the necessary resources, time, and independence it
needed to complete its mandate reaffirms IIGEP's assessment
that the GSL lacks the political will to hold human rights
violators accountable.
MOORE