Sri Lankan soldiers stationed with the United Nations Peacekeepers in the Central African Republic were given medals earlier this month, despite their involvement in grievous human rights abuses during previous peacekeeping missions.

According to Sri Lanka’s ministry of defence, Sri Lankan troops were “glamorously” awarded medals at a ceremony on 15 November 2023.

“The Director General General Engineering of Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Commodore Gihan Seneviratne, graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour,” it added, noting that the ceremony also had Sinhala Kandyan dancers perform.

The Chief Guest Major General Pedro Miguel Alves Gonçalves Soares, the Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA), reportedly “complimented Sri Lanka Aviation's crew members for their professionalism and sheer dedication and he praised them for their substantial role to the MINUSCA by displaying courage and valour in the face of extreme adversity,” said the ministry of defence.

The ceremony comes despite a damning report by the UN High Commissioner in 2021, which called on the UN to “keep under review Sri Lanka’s contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and screening systems for Sri Lanka personnel”.

In 2007, over 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were implicated in a child sex ring in Haiti. Sri Lankan troops were accused of exchanging food and money for sex with girls and boys as young as 12. While most of the accused were repatriated, none have been criminally prosecuted.

Read more here: UN peacekeepers in Haiti ‘fathered hundreds of babies’ with young girls with violence and coercion

The Sri Lankan Airforce stands credibly accused of committing war crimes during the armed conflict where indiscriminate bombing raids have killed tens of thousands of Tamils across the North-East. Former Air Force commanders have been barred from taking up diplomatic positions from Italy to Canada due to their direct role in committing war crimes and massacres against the Tamil populace.