The Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka (IFPSL) submitted the request to convene the 36th session of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal in late 2009, with the support of a broad network of non-governmental organisations. According to the organisations, the Sri Lankan government has resorted to air raids and heavy artillery since the start of the civil war, resulting in extremely serious consequences in terms of loss of life and massacres of the civilian population.
During the session, evidence was presented of bombings carried out by the security forces that struck civilian homes, hospitals, and areas that had been officially declared ‘safety zones’ or ‘ceasefire zones’. These attacks caused numerous casualties among the population, medical staff, and rescue workers. The government was also accused of deliberately depriving civilians in war zones of essential services such as food, water and healthcare. Other alleged crimes include violating the laws of war by executing those who had surrendered, torturing Tamil prisoners, and using sexual violence and rape as weapons of war.
In its Judgement, the PPT found that the Sri Lankan government and its security forces had committed war crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Panel of Judges also declared that the systematic actions against Tamil civilians constituted crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute. The Tribunal concluded by calling for thorough international investigations to continue in order to gather the necessary evidence and documentation to establish responsibility for the crime of genocide.
Requesting organisations: Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka (IFPSL)
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