Fifteen civil society organisations have expressed concern regarding the Government's proposal to establish a national unity and reconciliation commission and stated that they will not support the said mechanism. 

The proposed commission, they claim, is being introduced in the absence of a judicial mechanism with a special counsel, alleging that the failure to do so has denied victims the opportunity to seek justice through a credible mechanism as they have lost faith in the domestic justice system. 

Issuing a statement in this regard, they stated: “Truth seeking and telling is an important part of addressing past violations and suffering endured by communities, especially in the areas most affected by the war. The victim community has no confidence in any local commission or tribunal created by the State. These commissions have in fact revealed the intentions of successive governments to scuttle truth seeking and the victims' quest for accountability. Leading functionaries and politicians have declared publicly that the Government will not betray the war heroes and patriotic forces. The lack of accountability for past crimes has deepened the culture of impunity. The proposed commission is one among a series of commissions established by different governments over the last 30 years. Many of these structures that operated like some form of truth commission produced reports with a broad range of recommendations. Many of these recommendations remain unimplemented. In such a context, is it fair to call on victims to appear before yet another commission, when victims risk being re-traumatised and face security threats for speaking out? The civil society, victims and witnesses who came forward to make complaints and engage with the State have been intimidated, threatened and to date are under heavy surveillance. 

“Their work on finding the truth has been silenced deliberately by various arms of State Intelligence and other structures. We also see this as an effort by the Government to nullify the ongoing Sri Lanka accountability project. South Africa should not in any way initiate a process that will have a negative impact on a long fought for international accountability process by the victims. It is unfair on the victims to put them through another painful experience of truth telling when there is no commitment from the Government to actively listen to them, identify corrective steps and to implement long overdue meaningful reforms”. 

If the Government is interested in winning the public's trust, it should, per the statement, take certain steps, including to; review the existing recommendations from previous commissions and develop a plan to implement them with a timeframe; compile existing material and evidence presented to previous commissions and other State institutions to avoid victims having to repeat their testimonies again; create a climate for reconciliation including through the release of lands held by the military and ensure equitable distribution thereof, withdraw the oversized military deployed in the north and immediately release  prisoners accused under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) who have either served their sentence or not been charged; stop the harassment of activists and victims, and ensure that minority land is not seized by State authorities and majority religious institutions; review the proposed commission’s legislation and incorporate the recommendations made before the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms; take steps to expedite the court cases that are already dragged on for over decades on disappearance and mass graves; and repeal the PTA and have victim consultations on any draft laws, specially laws that have largely framed minorities and dissenters as terrorists.

The statement also addressed the issue of mass graves. “The discovery of mass graves has become a daily phenomenon. However, the Government has no intention to hold a credible investigation into the matter. Instead of assisting the process of investigation by appointing expert teams and sufficient funds to continue the process, the Government officially has always obstructed the processes,” it read.