.jpeg)
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has issued a detailed statement calling on the Sri Lankan government to ensure that ongoing excavations at the Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna are conducted in full compliance with international human rights standards, including the Minnesota Protocol.
As of 27 July 2025, a total of 104 sets of skeletal remains, including those of children and infants, have been identified at the Chemmani site, making it one of the largest mass graves uncovered on the island. The ICJ described the ongoing excavation as a critical step towards truth and accountability, but emphasised the urgent need for independent international oversight.
“We must remember that behind every set of remains lies a family that has endured unimaginable suffering,” said Mandira Sharma, Senior International Legal Adviser at the ICJ. “These forensic investigations must be conducted with the utmost respect for human dignity and with the full participation of families. International oversight is required to ensure that these processes meet the highest professional and legal standards that the gravity of these crimes warrants.”
Sharma further noted that the Chemmani exhumations “represent a critical juncture for Sri Lanka’s transitional justice process”.
The Chemmani site first drew international attention in 1998 following a confession by a Sri Lankan soldier implicated in the rape and murder of schoolgirl Krishanthy Kumaraswamy. His testimony revealed that hundreds of Tamils were extrajudicially executed and buried at the site. More than two decades later, renewed excavations have unearthed additional remains, underscoring the scale of past atrocities and the urgent need for justice.
Sri Lanka has one of the world’s highest rates of enforced disappearances, with estimates ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 unresolved cases.
The ICJ noted that past domestic inquiries into mass graves, including those in Chemmani (early 2000s) and Mannar (2018), have failed to yield justice, with judicial processes often stalled, suppressed, or rendered opaque. “The Chemmani exhumations must not be a mere forensic exercise,” the ICJ said, “but an example of full compliance on the part of the authorities with Sri Lanka’s legal obligations under international law.”
The ICJ outlined a series of recommendations, calling on the Sri Lankan government to:
• Fully comply with international standards, including the Minnesota Protocol, in investigating the Chemmani mass grave.
• Engage independent international forensic experts and human rights observers to ensure the independence, quality and credibility of the investigations.
• Provide psychosocial, legal, and protective support to families of the disappeared, enabling their meaningful participation throughout the process.
• Preserve and rigorously document all evidence to support future efforts toward criminal accountability.
• Fully implement Sri Lanka’s 2018 law on enforced disappearances and provide for clear prosecution guidelines and victim-centred procedures.
• Establish an independent Special Office to investigate and prosecute serious crimes by State officials, including enforced disappearances, with adequate resources, expertise, and international support.
• Publicly disclose findings from all past and present mass grave investigations, promoting transparency and truth.
The ICJ also called on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to renew its resolution on Sri Lanka at its upcoming 60th session and to extend the mandates of both OHCHR monitoring and the Sri Lanka Accountability Project. It noted that such oversight remains crucial in light of ongoing impunity and the lack of credible domestic mechanisms.
The statement emphasised that the Chemmani investigation must go beyond identification of remains to uncover the chain of command responsible for the killings. Effective legal representation, access to information, and psychosocial support for victims’ families were also highlighted as fundamental elements of any credible investigative process.
At a time when international scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s human rights record is set to intensify ahead of the UNHRC session in September, the ICJ warned that Colombo’s handling of the Chemmani excavations will be seen as a litmus test for its commitment to truth and justice.
“The victims and their families deserve nothing less than truth, justice and effective remedies, including guarantees of non-repetition,” the statement concluded. “Proper investigation and accountability in this case could become a model for investigating other mass grave sites. However, this will only be possible if there is genuine political will, adequate resources, and a victim-centred approach guided by international standards.”
Read the full statement here.