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

BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS:
After the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002, the National
Human Rights Commission embarked upon “a special effort directed
towards the protection and promotion of human rights in the Jaffna
region for the strengthening of the ongoing peace process.” 93 As part
of this effort, the Commission appointed a Committee to inquire into
“disappearances and the removal of persons” during the period 1990
– 1998.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:
The Report examines patterns and practices of the State that emerge
from the two hundred and eighty one cases into which the Committee
inquired. It must be noted, however, that these cases span an eight-year
period, during which the situation in the North changed dramatically.
Jaffna was controlled by the LTTE from 1990 until 1995 and by the
government of Sri Lanka from 1995 onwards.
According to the Committee, “it transpired during our inquiries that
many complaints of disappearances from Jaffna and a very high
number of disappearances from the North and East are yet to be taken
up for investigation” and that “the complaints referred to us constitute
only a minor fraction of the total number of disappearances that had
occurred….” 94
The Report examines cases by both State and non-State actors, although
the majority of disappearances have been at the hands of State actors. 95
The Committee’s attempts to seek information from both the Army
93.
HRC Committee Report, p. 95.
94.
HRC Committee Report, p. 12.
95.
Of the two hundred and eighty one cases, two hundred and fifty six were Tamils and twenty
five were Muslims. The twenty five Muslims had been taken by the LTTE and subsequently
disappeared. Of the two hundred and fifty six Tamils, two had been shot dead, two hundred
and forty five had been taken by the Army and then disappeared, five had disappeared
without a trace, and three had returned home.
80