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UN probe sought on torture by Lankan security forces

The UN Committee Against Torture should visit Sri Lanka and conduct an independent investigation into the continued abductions, torture and sexual violence committed by the security forces, a former member of the UN special panel has said.

Indian-origin Yasmin Sooka is a member of a former UN special panel on Sri Lanka’s war with the LTTE. She heads the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP). Her call has come ahead of the UNCAT’s meeting in Geneva this week to examine torture in Sri Lanka.

“Torture and abduction are so systematic and entrenched in the DNA of the security forces that even a realignment of political parties in parliament and the new government under President Sirisena are not able to stop these crimes. It requires political will and a commitment on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka to carry out a comprehensive security sector reform programme which is sadly missing in Sri Lanka,” Sooka said.

She was one of three in the panel appointed by the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to advise him on the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last phase of the war with the LTTE.
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