War survivors – your views are needed

Have you been directly affected by the war in Sri Lanka? Do you know someone who has? If so there is now an opportunity to make your voice heard

The United Nations Human Rights Council and the Government of Sri Lanka have agreed an approach to dealing with the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s civil war and the war crimes which were committed in the course of the conflict. While this approach might not be perfect, it represents the best (and currently only) mechanism whereby investigations, justice, compensation, acknowledgement and all the steps needed to give Sri Lanka a chance of a lasting peace can occur.

A consultation process has been set up and it is now calling for people to write to them. If this process is to work, then it will need to reflect the wishes and views of those who were directly affected by the war. If that means you, please write in and tell them what you think.

You can join in the consultation in two ways:

1. Write to [email protected] or by registered post to “Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms, Republic building, Sir Baron Jayathilaka Mw., Colombo 01, Sri Lanka” and let the Consultation Task Force know what you think.
2. Go to this link and fill in the form, which will ask you a series of questions designed to find out your views.

Submissions can be made by individuals, groups and organizations, in Sinhala, Tamil or English. The Task Force would like to request contact information along with submissions in the event further information is required. Please note that your submission to the Consultation Task Force will be made public, unless you request that it should be kept confidential. The deadline is 1st May 2016, however early submission is encouraged.

The Sri Lanka Campaign is in no way involved with this consultation process. However we believe that is very important that as many war survivors and war-affected individuals as possible be involved in it. There are no strict rules as to who should or shouldn’t partake in this exercise. However, if you were not directly affected by the war, please do not take part, as your voice might drown out those of individuals who were.

We do understand that many people affected by the war will have fears about participating in the process. Security is a real concern and we know very little about what sort of witness protection measures are in place. Given the Government of Sri Lanka’s consistent failing to take witness protection seriously we must assume the worst. Please do not take any unnecessary risks in order to participate, and consider carefully the details you give and the way in which you identify yourself. However, despite these flaws and witness protection failings, we hope some people will feel able to take part, in order to make sure survivors voices cannot be ignored – and indeed to lay bare these shortcomings.

If you know a war survivor who doesn’t speak English, please forward them the appropriate message below, taken from the consultation website.

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