CRINMAIL 169

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Highlight on Sri Lanka

This CRINMAIL features regular background information on a conflict situation in a specific country followed by an analysis of its impact on children. In light of the recent Human Rights Council resolution, this month will focus on Sri Lanka.

Background to the conflict

Sri Lanka was torn by a 26-year-long armed conflict that ended in May 2009. The conflict was primarily between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Numerous violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law were reported by both parties.

The roots of the conflict

The tensions in Sri Lanka developed into full-scale civil war in 1983, but the roots of the conflict date back long before that.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) emerged from the tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil populations of Sri Lanka during the 1970s. The development of student and political activism by Tamil groups in the early part of the decade was matched by growth in violent insurrectionary and separatist organisations.

Formally founded in 1976, the LTTE represented itself as a secular, Marxist-Leninist organisation advocating for the creation of an independent Tamil state in the north of Sri Lanka. After several years of involvement in low level violence against the Sri Lankan Government, they came to international attention in 1983 with the successful ambush of a Sri Lankan army patrol in Thirunelveli, during which 13 Sri Lankan servicemen were killed. This first major operation triggered a wave of violent reprisals against the Tamil community by the Government and is widely seen as representing the beginning of the civil war.

During the next few years of fighting, both the LTTE and government forces committed numerous atrocities against civilians, including attacks on settlements and places of worship.

Attempts at peace talks

Overt international intervention came during the Sri Lankan military's large scale attempt to retake the Jaffna Peninsula from the LTTE in 1987. India, despite having previously been a clandestine supporter of Tamil groups including the LTTE, stepped in to negotiate a ceasefire between the two sides and to de-escalate the military confrontation. The proposal presented offered some moves towards autonomy for the predominantly Tamil north and east of the country, as well as the disarmament of the Tamil militias. This was to be overseen by an Indian Peace Keeping Force, which was to be deployed to the north and east of the country.

Despite the ceasefire, the LTTE refused demands that it disarm and began engaging in open hostilities with Indian peacekeepers. At the same time, the Indian presence in Sri Lanka faced opposition from Sinhalese in the south, which actually led to covert assistance for the LTTE against the IPKF by the Sri Lankan army. This pressure forced an Indian withdrawal in 1990, followed shortly after by the collapse of the ceasefire between the government and the LTTE and a renewed assault on Jaffna by Sri Lankan forces.

Apart from a brief pause in hostilities and an attempt at renewed peace talks after the election of a new Sri Lankan Government in 1994, bloody fighting continued through the 1990s. Violence against civilians both on and away from the battlefield continued, as did numerous assassinations and attacks on urban centres.

Territory changed hands many times, but by the end of the decade, neither side had achieved a decisive victory. International pressure and internal disputes on both sides led to renewed rounds of negotiations throughout the early 2000s, punctuated by intermittent resumptions of hostilities.

The escalation of violence

Talks broke down completely in 2006 despite a ceasefire agreement negotiated in February 2002, mediated by the Norwegian government, with numerous skirmishes, assassinations and massacres by both sides.

Sri Lankan forces began to take strategically vital points from the LTTE throughout the latter part of 2006 and by the following year had completely retaken the eastern parts of the country. Government forces continued to push into the north of the country, refusing to accept LTTE ceasefires, and by mid-2008 the LTTE control had been reduced to the single district of Kilinochchi.

Throughout late 2008 and early 2009, Government forces pushed the LTTE out of its remaining strongholds. At the same time, the fighting displaced thousands of civilians, many of them being relocated into a government imposed “No Fire Zone”. Both sides were accused of violence against displaced civilians during this period, with the military establishing a series of internment camps and the LTTE forcibly keeping civilians from leaving the combat zone.

The heavy toll of the last months

By early 2009, much of the LTTE leadership had been killed, its military capabilities had been greatly reduced and it had lost nearly all of the territory it once controlled. Throughout April, the Sri Lankan army continued to advance on LTTE territory, despite international condemnation of the intensity of the fighting and the mounting civilian casualties. Surrounded and losing ground, the LTTE was gradually forced to retreat into the No Fire Zone, where the remaining forces prepared to make a final stand. By mid-May, the last LTTE controlled area had been overrun, its remaining leadership either surrendered or killed and a declaration of victory by the Sri Lankan Government issued.

The humanitarian impact of the final months of fighting was particularly notable, with hundreds of thousands of civilians internally displaced, significant non-combatant casualties and accusations of war crimes against both sides.

Despite a report to the UN Secretary General by a UN panel which found “credible” allegations of misconduct against both sides in the conflict during the final months of the civil war and which recommended the establishment of an independent international investigation, such an inquiry has yet to be launched.

Human Rights Abuses

An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people died during the fighting between 2006 and early 2009, with Government forces and particularly the LTTE suffering heavy losses in battle.

The Panel of Experts appointed by UN Secretary-General reported that up to 40,000 civilians of all ages died in the final months of the war.

War crimes

Several human rights organisations and the UN reported numerous credible allegations of war crimes and other serious human rights abuses committed both by the Government forces and the LTTE.

From January to April 2009, more than 300,000 civilians were trapped in areas of fighting, effectively used as “human shields” by the LTTE, with limited access to food, water, and medical care.

The LTTE forcibly conscripted civilians and prevented others from fleeing LTTE-controlled areas by firing at them, killing many.

The Government declared a "No Fire Zone" and directed civilians caught in the conflict to relocate there. Witnesses say the army shelled the "No Fire Zone", knowing that it was densely populated by civilians.

Detention camps

The United Nations reported that as of July 17 2009 the Government was detaining 281,621 people, including children, in 30 military-guarded camps euphemistically called “welfare centres”. Inside the camps, humanitarian workers were prohibited, on threat of being barred from the camps, from discussing with residents the fighting in the final months of the conflict or possible human rights abuses.

Under international pressure, the Government started the resettlement process, allowing people to leave the camps, in early 2010 and the process was completed and camps were officially closed on 25 September 2012.

Child recruitment

According to Child Soldiers International, the LTTE "systematically recruited and used child soldiers throughout the 25-year armed conflict […]. Boys and girls were forcibly recruited and deployed into armed combat as well as being subjected to harsh conditions and military discipline. Children also “voluntarily” enlisted into the LTTE ranks. […]. Thousands of child soldiers were believed to have been recruited and used by the LTTE during the last intense phase of the conflict."

According to the report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council issued in April 2012, no new cases of recruitment of children by armed groups have been reported since October 2009. However, the whereabouts of 1,373 children of a total of 6,905 who had been recruited by the LTTE remains unknown, and the location of five boys previously recruited by the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), three of which have been traced to the forces of Inya Bharathi, is also unknown.

Justice and accountability

On February 11 2013, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a highly critical report on the Sri Lankan Government’s failure to provide justice and accountability and urged “an independent and credible international investigation into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.”

No impartial and credible investigations were made either of or into any of the alleged violations committed during the conflict. Most disturbingly, an army court of inquiry set up by the Government to look into these allegations issued a report on February 15 2013, fully exonerating the army from any liability for civilian casualties.

In 2012 the Conclusions on the situation of children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka "stressed the need for accountability for violations and abuses committed against children during the armed conflict and encouraged the Government to further enhance its efforts to combat impunity through the full investigation of such cases and prosecution of perpetrators."

According to its own report issued in November 2012, the UN failed to protect civilians during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. The Report of the UN Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka offers a strong indictment of the UN’s response to Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. It deals with a period of conflict in Sri Lanka when very grave violations of international law are alleged and where effective UN action might have averted some of the worst of the violations. Most recently, a March 2013 resolution at the Human Rights Council called upon Sri Lanka to re-open enquires into human rights abuses during the conflict.

Sources

International Crisis Group

Insight on conflict

BBC Sri Lanka country profile

The Office of the UN Special Representative to the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict

Child Soldiers International

Human Rights Watch:

http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/srilanka0210webwcover.pdf

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/19/sri-lanka-un-rights-council-should-launch-inquiry

http://www.hrw.org/news/2009/07/28/sri-lanka-free-civilians-detention-camps

Amnesty International:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/sri-lanka-how-un-failed-during-sri-lanka-s-armed-conflict-2012-11-14

http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/sri-lanka-how-un-failed-during-sri-lanka-s-armed-conflict-2012-11-14

News and updates

Child casualties and abuse on the rise in Syria and Afghanistan

Whilst child fatalities continue in the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, reports of growing abuse have also emerged. In the wake of the recent NATO air strike in Afghanistan, which killed 10 children, President Hamid Karzai issued a decree banning aerial attacks on civilian areas and condemned the Taliban’s strategy of using civilian areas and their homes as shields. Full story. Meanwhile, in Syria, over 80 children have been killed under torture, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, who are calling on the UN to investigate their findings and to refer the perpetrators to the International Criminal Court. Children are also exposed to other consequences of the Syrian conflict, particularly early child marriage which has increased sharply. Parents have often justified this as a measure to "protect" their children from the threat of sexual violence.  

Addressing sexual violence in conflicts

A new report by Save the Children states that most victims of sexual violence in conflict zones are children - who are suffering rape and abuse at an appalling rate, described by advocacy groups as one of the "hidden horrors of war". To ensure that this human rights abuse does not continue to be ignored, the G8 have agreed to work together to combat sexual violence in conflicts, and adopted a new international protocol to that effect during a recent meeting of G8 foreign ministers in London. The agreement, which classifies war-time rape as a violation of the Geneva conventions, seeks to increase the number of successful prosecutions of perpetrators and declares that amnesties for sexual violence should not form part of peace treaties. Full story.

UN adopts new arms trade treaty

The UN General Assembly has adopted the first treaty to control the trade in conventional arms, which includes all firearms and explosive weapons other than those considered “weapons of mass destruction”. The new international standards seek to regulate a trade worth $70bn (£46bn) annually by prohibiting States from exporting conventional weapons in violation of arms embargoes, or weapons which could be used for acts of terrorism, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The treaty also sets reporting requirements which seek to provide some degree of transparency and accountability. Full story. This treaty comes at a time when many children are killed and injured every year by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

Events

Course: Understanding Children's Human Rights

Organisation: London School of Economics

Date: 25-26 April 2013

Location: London, United Kingdom

More details here.

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