Commonwealth Secretariat invites HRCSL

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda

The Commonwealth Secretariat has invited the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) for a discussion on reconciliation, justice and accountability in Sri Lanka, the Human Rights Commission sources said.

The Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Prathibha Mahanamahewa has been invited for this roundtable by the Commonwealth Secretariat which is scheduled to be held from 29 April to 3 May in London.  

“Better understanding of the internationally accepted definitions of transitional justice, accountability and reconciliation, awareness and understanding of the Commonwealth Civil Paths to peace as an entry point for reconciliation would be the main areas of this roundtable,” Dr. Mahanamahewa said.

The Human Rights Commissioner further said that the discussion would also be focused on the understanding of the need to identify stable, peaceful and sustainable solutions to post conflict solutions, understanding of truth commissions as a mechanism of transitional justice and a best practice for further reconciliation. He said that this meeting would be very important for Sri Lanka since the Commonwealth had raised several issues regarding Sri Lanka.

Dr. Mahanamahewa is the Dean Faculty of Law, Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and a Senior Academic Member, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. He is also an International Reviewer of world reputed Journal Science Direct and he has presented many research papers in local and international conferences and workshops.