The OISL report on mass atrocities in Sri Lanka makes clear that Sri Lanka “cannot tackle decades of entrenched impunity on its own” said former BBC correspondent Frances Harrison.

The report, which is “filled with legal language and clinical descriptions of extreme brutality... is also a graveyard of dead politicians, journalists, priests and combatants whom many of us knew personally,” said Ms Harrison. “For some victims, this is the only memorial they have had in six long years.”

“As a document of historical record, the UN report is a huge emotional milestone on the road to justice,” she added.

“For those of us who’ve worked on the issue of war crimes and then post-war systematic and widespread sexual violence by the security forces, it’s a vindication of everything we’ve said for years in the face of a great deal of scepticism, denial and vilification. For the victims living in the shadows who survived these experiences and thought they’d never come out alive, being believed and having their suffering acknowledged is a giant step forward.”

Noting that Sri Lanka has not outright rejected the contents of the report, she added though that “the government does not appear keen on international judges, prosecutors and investigators being part of the envisaged court”.

“Civil society groups in Sri Lanka agree on one thing: a hybrid accountability mechanism must have a strong international component to have any chance of working,” she added.

“The UN report made it very clear Sri Lanka cannot tackle decades of entrenched impunity on its own. How much international involvement is the issue being fought over now. But, as one human rights lawyer has said, this is a historic opportunity for Sri Lanka.”

See the full text of her piece on International Justice Tribune here.