Hybrid court pivotal to address Sri Lankan war crimes: UN official

A UN report published on Wednesday indicated that war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly perpetrated by both the Sri Lankan security forces and Tamil Tiger Rebels between 2002 and 2011 should be dealt with within a hybrid court system.

"Our investigation has laid bare the horrific level of violations and abuses that occurred in Sri Lanka, including indiscriminate shelling, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, harrowing accounts of torture and sexual violence, recruitment of children and other grave crimes," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

While commending the new Government's efforts under President Mathiripala Sirisena to pursue accountability, Al Hussein deemed Sri Lankan's criminal justice system "unready," adding that "a purely domestic court procedure will simply not succeed in overcoming the widespread and justifiable suspicions fuelled by decades of violations, malpractice and broken promises."

As the crimes outlined in the report can only be investigated and judged upon by a court of law, Al Hussein called for the establishment of a hybrid special court which would integrate international judges as well as prosecutors, lawyers and investigators.

The report brings to the fore numerous crimes perpetrated by parties to the conflict over the nine year period, which saw as many as 40,000 civilians lose their lives during the Sri Lankan army's final offensive against Tamil Tiger separatists between 2008 and 2009.

Findings furthermore reveal accounts of unlawful killings allegedly carried out by both Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) against Tamil politicians, humanitarian workers, journalists and ordinary civilians including Muslim and Sinhalese minorities.

The investigation also brought to fore shocking instances of sexual and gender-based violence against detainees committed by Sri Lankan security forces as part of a torture policy which was as widespread as it was brutal during the decade covered by the report.

Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans were furthermore affected by enforced disappearances, with the human rights report indicating that this tactic may have been used as part of a systemic and systematic attack against the South Indian island's population.

Also highlighted were cases of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, recruitment of children and their use in hostilities, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, denial of humanitarian assistance and violations conducted during the detention of internally displaced persons.

"It is our earnest belief and hope this report will lead to efforts to end impunity for these crimes. That it will create a most intense reckoning with the past; the recognition there are simply too many families throughout Sri Lanka who have suffered appallingly, too many who have disappeared, too many pushed into exile, too many funerals organised, too much pain felt, and too much lost in terms of Sri Lanka's human and economic development," the High Commissioner said. Endit