The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF), a network of civil society groups in the North-East, welcomed the statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, released on Saturday, following his visit to the island.
"We are pleased that Mr de Grieff has addressed many issues that was raised by TCSF in his meeting with him," the group said on its social media page on Monday.
"We particularly draw your attention to the following observations of Mr. de Grieff:
1. On Sri lanka's track record with past commissions of inquiry: "At this critical juncture, the country cannot afford to simply reproduce an approach that is characterized by the proliferation of largely unrelated and inconsequential ‘ad hoc’ initiatives"
2. On the lack of consultation with victims in designing an accountability mechanism: "Citizens cannot be simply presented with ‘solutions’ in the design of which they were given no role. It is equally crucial from a practical standpoint, for transitional justice measures depend, to a large extent, on the willingness of victims and others to participate, for example, by sharing pertinent information with the relevant institutions"
3. On attempts at opting for a truth seeking model absent prosecutions: "Relying on some of the measures at the expense of others, requiring victims to ‘choose’ between measures while sacrificing others would be both legally unjustified and practically in conducive"."
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