sri lanka's commissions of inquiry - Law & Society Trust

was established by President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2006. The Report
of this Commission has not been published todate. 3
By providing a compilation of information about prior commissions,
this publication seeks to provide important historical background and
context to better understand commissions of inquiry into human rights
violations in Sri Lanka.
Insofar as Sri Lanka is concerned, the public and victims of serious
human rights abuses have been given little reason to repose their faith
in national commissions, appointed more to placate the international
community than to seek answers and promote reconciliation. The
possibility of putting community based initiatives for reconciliation
in place provides hope for those who aspire to heal the wounds of
war ravaged victims. The opportunities for post war Sri Lanka are
tremendous, if the political will and spirit of truth and reconciliation
commissions were to be recognised.
We hope that this publication will be useful for this most essential
healing process in bringing about a better understanding of the failures
of the past.
the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons ( IIGEP), 15 April 2008, REF:
IIGEP-PS-006-2006, Colombo, available at http://www.ruleoflawsrilanka.org/resources/
IIGEPnbspSTM.pdf, also see, Amnesty International: “Twenty Years of Make Believe –
Sri Lanka’s Presidential Commissions of Inquiry” (AI Index: ASA 37/05/2009, June 2009),
for a critique of the functioning of the 2006 Commission of Inquiry.
3