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

BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The All Island Commission was created to complete the work of the
three zonal commissions and inquire into the cases pending from those
three commissions. Unlike the zonal commissions, the All Island
Commission looked at involuntary removals and disappearances
across the entire island and thus its Report presents a more complete
picture of the period from 1988 onwards.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:
The structure of the Report follows the structure of the mandate and
includes chapters on: (1) the mandate; (2) the present whereabouts
of disappeared persons; (3) responsibility for the disappearances;
(4) legal proceedings regarding those responsible; (5) preventative
measures; and (6) recommendations on relief to affected persons. In
addition, like the Southern Commission, the All Island Commission
Report looks at special issues, including disappearances from the
Jaffna district and Eastern Province, border villages, and the evidence
of special witnesses. While not as comprehensive as the Southern
Commission, the All Island Commission Report examines patterns
and practices causing disappearances and includes specific cases
illustrative of such patterns and practices.
The Report presents the most coherent and structured findings and
analysis of any of the Commissions. This is a result of two factors.
First, the island-wide mandate of the Commission enabled it to
examine the phenomenon of disappearances more completely. Second,
the chairperson and the secretary of the All-Island Commission had
been, respectively, the chairperson of the Southern Commission and
the secretary of the Central Zone Commission, and thus they had
developed experience on issues of both substance and process.
According to the Report, ten thousand one hundred and thirty six
complaints were handed over to the Commission from the three zonal
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