Amnesty International urges transparency in screening of Sri Lankan peacekeepers deployed to Haiti

Amnesty International has called on the United Nations and Sri Lankan authorities to be “absolutely transparent” about the screening process for the deployment of 1,132 Sri Lankan personnel to Haiti despite allegations of abuse during a previous mission. 

In a recent statement, Renzo Pomi, Amnesty International’s Representative at the United Nations in New York, highlighted that “there remain serious and unresolved allegations of widespread sexual abuse” by Sri Lankan peacekeepers who were previously deployed to the Caribbean island. 

In 2007, over 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were implicated in a child sex ring in Haiti. Sri Lankan troops were accused of exchanging food and money for sex with girls and boys as young as 12. While most of the accused were repatriated, none have been criminally prosecuted.

The rights organisation also called on the UN and Sri Lankan authorities to be transparent about what safeguarding measures have been put in place and what accountability mechanisms have been created to address any potential new allegations against Sri Lankan peacekeepers. 

“Senior Sri Lankan military officers suspected of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other international crimes should be excluded from participating in any vetting processes,” Pomi added. 

The Sri Lankan military also stands accused of a litany of war crimes, particularly towards the end of the armed conflict where they deliberately shelled hospitals, food distribution lines and other humanitarian objects, killing tens of thousands of Tamils. To date, there has been no justice or accountability for the 2009 Mullivaikkal genocide, which involved indiscriminate shelling of civilians, hospital bombings, and the alleged use of chemical weapons.

Last month, a group of human rights organisations, including the International Truth & Justice Project, Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, and People for Equality & Relief in Lanka, called for an urgent halt to the upcoming deployment.

The organisations demanded the establishment of an independent, credible vetting and screening mechanism with meaningful participation from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and to ensure that any official with unresolved human rights allegations or with a conflict of interest should play no role in supervising, certifying or approving the screening process.