A UN report says Sri Lankan forces used sexual violence against Tamils during the civil war, with victims still awaiting justice 17 years after the conflict ended.
GENEVA: Sri Lankan forces used sexual violence against minority Tamils during the island’s decades-long separatist war.
A UN Human Rights Office report said victims still await justice 17 years after the fighting ended in May 2009.
The report states sexual assaults were used to extract information, intimidate communities, and instil fear.
It adds that successive governments have failed to adequately investigate or prosecute these cases.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk urged the new government to address impunity.
“Recognition, truth, accountability and reparations are critical to restoring dignity to survivors,” Turk said in Geneva.
The report calls on Colombo to acknowledge past sexual violence and issue a formal apology.
It also recommends survivor-centred reforms and establishing an independent prosecution office.
The findings are based on a decade of UN monitoring and consultations with survivors.
Many survivors said the attacks were intended to cause lasting trauma and break communities.
“Sexual violence is a torture that never stops,” one survivor was quoted as saying.
The report notes many victims suffer chronic injuries, infertility, and psychological breakdowns.
Successive governments have denied allegations the military killed 40,000 Tamil civilians at the war’s end.
They have also resisted international calls for independent investigations.
