The Coalition for the International Criminal Court has called on Sri Lanka to join the international court and “signal to its citizens and the international community that it is ready to break away from impunity and its violent past”.
In a campaign launched on Thursday, the CICC called Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to accede to the ICC Rome Statute
Amielle Del Rosario, Coalition Asia-Pacific regional coordinator, said that the leaders now had “a remarkable opportunity to demonstrate a ability and willingness to usher in an era of true reconciliation based on justice and dignity for all its citizens”.
“To restore the confidence of its citizens and to show the rest of the world that it is on the path to greater stability and development, it must sign the Rome Statute as a measure of good faith,” she added.
Niran Anketell, head of the legal and justice unit for the South Asian Centre for Legal Studies, also said:
“Sri Lanka’s record of domestic accountability throughout its post-independence history has been characterized by a lack of political will, lack of capacity, political interference and chronic failure. This is why international participation in any in-country accountability mechanisms is crucial”.
The CICC concluded by stating, “any further delays towards the establishment of a framework based on the rule of law and protects its citizens from the worst crimes will severely undermine the expectations and confidence invested by victims and civil society in accountability and convey a message of condoning impunity”.
“Sri Lanka must break away from its violent by and joining the ICC system of international justice.”
See the petition here.