More Sri Lankans who are alleged of human rights violations and corruption have been recommended for target sanctions from the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe countries, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) said.
A source from the ITJP said the human rights body has “submitted more information and names for other governments” for actions.
The UK on Monday imposed sanctions on four key Sri Lankans who played pivotal roles in the island nation’s 26-year civil war between the government military and Tamil Tiger rebels who are popularly known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after the recommendations by the ITJP.
The UK imposed travel sanctions on former Commanders of Sri Lanka Army Shavendra Silva and Jagath Jayasuriya, former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, and former military commander of LTTE terrorist group Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, popularly known as Karuna Amman,
The sanctions are aimed at seeking accountability for serious human rights violations and abuses, committed during the civil war, and to prevent a culture of impunity.
The measures, which include UK travel bans and asset freezes, target individuals responsible for a range of violations and abuses, such as extrajudicial killings, during the civil war, the UK Foreign office said in a statement.
“The UK government is committed to human rights in Sri Lanka, including seeking accountability for human rights violations and abuses which took place during the civil war, and which continue to have an impact on communities today,” Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy, said in the statement.
“The UK government looks forward to working with the new Sri Lankan government to improve human rights in Sri Lanka, and welcomes their commitments on national unity.”
Continuous Push for Justice
The ITJP is a human rights organization that focuses on accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and human rights violations, particularly in Sri Lanka. It was established to document abuses that occurred during and after Sri Lanka’s civil war (1983–2009), with a focus on seeking justice for victims of enforced disappearances, torture, sexual violence, and extrajudicial killings.
In December, ITJP said it had submitted more than 60 sanctions and visa ban requests against Sri Lankan public and security officials to date as well as a series of universal jurisdiction cases.
These requests have been sent to the Governments of the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the EU as well as the UN.
The submissions cover gross violations of human rights and significant corruption in respect of the Sri Lankan army, navy, air force, police and intelligence officials, Tamil paramilitaries, as well as civil servants including judges and former ministers.
The ITJP’s submissions have covered gross violations of human rights and significant corruption in respect of the Sri Lankan army, navy, air force, police and intelligence officials, Tamil paramilitaries, as well as civil servants including judges and former ministers.
The South Africa-based independent, international, non-profit organisation, however, has not mentioned the names of the officials and people in its submission list.
In December, the US State Department imposed travel bans on Sri Lanka’s ex-envoy to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga and former Sri Lankan Airlines chief executive Kapila Chandrasena among 14.
Both Weeratunga and Chandrasena are facing allegations of corruption. Weeratunga is facing court case against MiG fighter get deal in Ukraine, while Chandrasena has been accused of corrupt Airbus deal.
The ITJP has been collecting testimonies from survivors, whistleblowers, and former members of security forces to provide evidence of war crimes and ongoing violations. It also has been working with international legal bodies to push for accountability, including supporting cases under universal jurisdiction in different countries.
The ITJP, led by Yasmin Sooka, a South African human rights lawyer and former member of the UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka, who played a key role in highlighting alleged war crimes committed by Sri Lankan security forces and advocating for international justice mechanisms.
New Govt Yet to Respond
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s new government is yet to respond on the UK’s decision for target sanctions on the three top military officials and the LTTE breakaway leader who worked with the state military to defeat the rebels in the final war.
Since the end of the war in 2009, Sri Lanka has strongly rejected any human rights violation and said it had maintained zero casualties in its final war.
However, ITJP said the submissions looked at state-owned enterprises and misappropriation of public funds that resulted in huge financial losses for the entire country, and contributed to the economic crisis in the country.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution in March 2021 that has given a mandate for the global body to establish a mechanism to gather evidence outside the country over alleged human rights violations during and after a 26-year war that ended in 2009.
The resolution has allowed the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) “to collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve information and evidence and to develop possible strategies for future accountability processes for gross violations of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka.
It is also expected to advocate for victims and survivors, and to support relevant judicial and other proceedings, including in the member states, “with competent jurisdiction”.
External Mechanism
A Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security in the last parliament summoned representatives of the country’s Foreign Ministry, Defence Ministry, chief of all three forces, and attorney general to review external mechanisms that have been established as per the UN resolution on evidence gathering mechanism.
The Committee has said in line with the mechanism, legal cases can be filed in different countries under international jurisdictions against the military leaders and those officials who gave orders to the military.
The committee expressed its concerns over any legal actions by various countries against those involved could lead to prosecute Sri Lanka’s military and political leaders at the International Court of Justice ( ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC).
The US has imposed a travel ban on General Silva and his immediate family members, Navy intelligence officer Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, Army Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake, army officer Prabath Bulathwatta, and former Navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda, citing human rights violations.
Travel bans have already been imposed by the US on senior retired military leader Shagi Gallage and the former defence secretary Kamal Gunaratne as well, the previous government has admitted.
Canada in 2023 imposed financial sanctions to freeze the assets of former Sri Lankan presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, citing rights abuses.
Some top Sri Lankan military officials have been deprived of taking part in lucrative UN Peacekeeping Missions due to human rights allegations during the war.
Junior Rajapaksa Responds
Responding to UK’s sanctions, Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and an opposition Sri Lankan legislator blamed the West claiming it was selectively targeting Sri Lanka’s war veterans while ignoring those who funded and justified LTTE brutality.
“The latest UK sanctions aren’t about human rights—they’re the result of relentless LTTE-backed lobbying, manipulating foreign governments to act against those who brought lasting peace,” he tweeted.
“These sanctions will lower the morale of our forces, and if another crisis arises, they may lack the courage to fight if we don’t support them now.”
Namal Rajapaksa also has faced US travel sanctions in 2018 over a court case related to corruption.
Human rights analysts say some Sri Lankan political and military leaders are still unaware that they have been blacklisted by Western nations for rights abuses and will only become aware of such measures when they request visas from these countries.
The Rajapaksas and military leaders have denied any wrongdoing, and successive governments have rejected an independent international investigation into alleged human rights violations, citing infringement on the country’s sovereignty.
