Second interim report of PCoI to probe human rights violations handed over to President

COLOMBO (News 1st); The second interim report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry for Appraisal of the Findings of Previous Commissions and Committees and the Way Forward has been handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The report was submitted by Supreme Court Judge A. H. M. D. Nawaz at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (18).

President Rajapaksa appointed the Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to investigate, inquire into and report or take necessary actions on findings of preceding Commissions or Committees appointed to investigate into human rights violations, serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and other such offences on the 21st of January last year.

According to the Presidential Media Unit, the first report of the Commission was submitted to the President on the 21st of July,2021.

In preparing the second 107-page report, the Commission made a number of recommendations based on the testimonies of 75 residents of the Jaffna and Kilinochchi Districts who had faced the war and who had related experiences with the war.

It has been recommended to immediately investigate the findings of the Paranagama Commission appointed in 2015 and to file a court case or provide compensation accordingly.

Those who testified before the Commission requested the Government’s assistance to uplift their financial status, which has also been recommended by the Commission.

Although terrorists are not allowed to be commemorated, the PCoI has recommended to grant the right to commemorate the death of a relative occurred during the war in private.

Chairman of the Commission Supreme Court Judge A.H.M.D Nawaz said that the final report can be submitted to the President by next June.