International Truth and Justice Project
| Established | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Type | Private limited company |
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
Executive director | Yasmin Sooka |
| Website | https://itjpsl.com/ |
International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) is a human rights non-governmental organization established in 2013 to gather evidence to hold the Government of Sri Lanka accountable for war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war. Located in South Africa while being registered in London, United Kingdom as a private limited company,[1] the ITJP publish its reports and press releases in English, Tamil and Sinhala.
Leadership and funding
[edit] |
Its executive director is Yasmin Sooka, who served as a member of the United Nations Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka. Its other directors include British journalist Frances Harrison, Hanif Mohammed Vally and Zaid Kimmie; who have served as the executive directors the Foundation for Human Rights of South Africa. It has gained grants from the Sigrid Rausing Trust.
Initiatives
[edit]Sanctions against former Sri Lankan officials
[edit]As of December 2024, it had submitted over 60 sanctions and visa ban requests against Sri Lankan public and security officials for human rights and economic crimes in Sri Lanka.[2] These have been extended to Indian officials including members of the IPKF.
In March 2025, the Government of the United Kingdom imposed travel sanctions, former Commander of the Army Shavendra Silva and Jagath Jayasuriya, former Commander of the Navy Wasantha Karannagoda and ex-LTTE Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, aka Karuna Amman as part of what the Foreign office called "UK travel bans and asset freezes, target individuals responsible for a range of violations and abuses, such as extrajudicial killings, during the civil war".[3] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this was a unilateral action taken by the UK government and such action does not assist but serve to complicate the national reconciliation process underway in Sri Lanka and went on to say human rights violations in the past need to handle by domestic accountability mechanisms.[4] The Wartime President Mahinda Rajapaksa rejected UK governments allegations of human rights violations, stating "We waged war only against the LTTE and not against the Tamil people".[5]
Release of the Batalanda Commission Report
[edit]In 2025, Harrison brought to global attention the Batalanda Commission Report that found former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was indirectly responsible for the detention centre.[6]
See also
[edit]- Tamil genocide
- War crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War
- Permanent Peoples' Tribunal on Sri Lanka
- North East Secretariat on Human Rights
- University Teachers for Human Rights
- Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka
References
[edit]- ^ "THE INTERNATIONAL TRUTH AND JUSTICE PROJECT".
- ^ "ITJP submits over 60 sanction requests against Sri Lankan officials". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
- ^ "More Sri Lankans recommended for target sanctions: ITJP says after UK's action". economynext.com. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ^ "UK sanctions: Such unilateral actions only complicate reconciliation process: Foreign Ministry". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
- ^ "Wartime President Mahinda Rajapaksa tells off UK for sanctions against military leaders". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
- ^ "Batalanda report surfaces as Ranil rejects allegations on Al Jazeera". newswire.lk.