by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, February 19, 2024
This press release presents a list of 36 past Commissions of Inquiry commissioned by the Sri Lankan Government – a third of which never even published their reports. Additionally, very few are even displayed on any government website, despite being for the large part digitised. Indeed, we could only find copies available of approximately half – 11 – of the 22 published reports of past commissions.
Sri Lankan victims have lost count of the number of government commissions established to look into gross violations of human rights, as yet another one is about to be established. The Truth, Unity and Reconciliation Commission is the latest in a line of at least 36 commissions established by the Government of Sri Lanka to look for the truth, and yet victims say justice and accountability remains elusive. It’s eight years today since the families of the disappeared bravely started street protests to call for action; since then more than 240 elderly relatives have died without finding out what happened to their loved ones.
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