The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) welcomed media reports that Sri Lanka’s cabinet had recognised that “exiled victims and witnesses have a key role in terrifying to the country’s future transitional justice mechanisms” adding concerns that Sri Lanka had not addressed “genuine concerns of witnesses and victims abroad who fear reprisals either against themselves or their families in Sri Lanka.”
In a statement released on Friday, the ITJP executive director Yasmin Sooksa said,
“A credible witness protection process must allow victims to testify safely and anonymously and this cannot happen in a Sri Lankan diplomatic mission which risks them being identified by those who may be implicated themselves to the final phase of the war.”
The author of the United Nations Panel of experts report on Sri Lanka added,
“There is consensus among activists inside and outside Sri Lanka that the Witness Protection Act is fatally flawed and must be thoroughly revamped – tinkering with it like this will clearly not achieve anything.”
Cabinet approves amendment to permit witness testimonies from abroad (07 Jul 2016)