The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has submitted more than 60 sanctions requests targeting Sri Lankan officials, security personnel, and former Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) officers for their roles in gross human rights violations committed during and after Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. These requests have been sent to governments such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the European Union, as well as to the United Nations.
The ITJP’s submissions document violations including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, and sexual violence, perpetrated by Sri Lankan military forces, paramilitary groups, and civil servants—among them judges and former government ministers. Many of these atrocities, which include attacks on civilians, potential war crimes, and crimes against humanity, were committed during the final stages of the conflict.
The dossiers also draw attention to systemic corruption within Sri Lanka’s governance, highlighting the mismanagement of state-owned enterprises and financial misconduct that have contributed to the country’s ongoing economic crisis.
In addition to targeting Sri Lankan officials, the ITJP has called for visa bans on former members of the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF), who are accused of involvement in human rights abuses during their deployment in the Tamil North-East in the late 1980s. These officers have been linked to mass atrocity crimes during their operations in the region.
“In the absence of any criminal accountability to date, it is vital to continue to document past and current crimes, analyse the evidence and use every channel to keep on asserting the truth," said Yasmin Sooka, Executive Director of ITJP. She emphasized the importance of continuing to document past and current crimes despite the absence of criminal accountability thus far.
"We hope the new UK government will impose sanctions on Sri Lankans for their alleged role in war crimes by Human Rights Day (December 10th) this year," she added.
The ITJP has already submitted comprehensive dossiers on high-ranking Sri Lankan figures like General Shavendra Silva and General Jagath Jayasuriya. Silva, who was sanctioned by the US in 2020, is accused of overseeing atrocities during the war’s final stages, while Jayasuriya has faced multiple complaints in several jurisdictions, including Brazil, Chile, and Australia.
Currently several Sri Lankan individuals accused of war crimes are banned from entering Canada and the United States, including former Sri Lankan presidents and Silva, who is the current Chief of Defence Staff.
Dissanayake with senior Sri Lankan military leaders, including Shavendra Silva, last month.
Last week, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy was questioned on upholding his previous commitments on accountability and referring Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Lammy has previously called for the UK to refer Sri Lankan war criminals to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Speaking at an event in 2022, he said, “I marched for sanctions on apartheid South Africa... I am demanding sanctions be imposed on Sri Lankan war criminals.”
He added, “We believe in internationalism, multilateralism, and the rule of law. That means you must be held to account for atrocities committed against innocent, decent people. As a fellow member of a minority community, I pay tribute to the Tamils.”
Sri Lanka’s newly elected president Aruna Kumara Dissanayake had stated during his election campaign earlier this year he "will not seek to punish anyone accused of rights violations and war crimes". Dissanyake has since appointed accused war criminals to senior positions.
