Page 88 - KDU Law Journal Volume 4 Issue 2

KDU Law Journal Volume 04 Issue II
September, 2024
Against the Armed Forces.” This report provides a large amount
47
of cerdible evidence to disprove this allegation. Summery of those
credible evidence is given below.
(a) The provision of all humanitrian assistance to conflict areas were
coordinated by a committee named Consultative Committee on
Humanitarian Assisatnce (CCHA). It consisted of 11 GOSL officers
and 14 non-government representatives including US ambassador,
Head of Delegation of European Commission, UN Humanatrarian
Coordinator, Delegation Head of ICRC, Country Directors of
World Food Program and WHO etc.

(b) However, OISL team has not interviewed any memebers of CCHA
before framing this charge against Sri Lanka.
(c) CCHA Minutes dated 30 January 2009 records that UN Resident
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Humanitarian Coordinator Mr. Neil Buhne praised GOSL for the
work done through Government Agents in delivering assistance to
civilians. The relevant part of the Minutes is quoted below;
‘… Mr. Buhne applauded the good work done through the
Government Agent sructures in delivery of relief and assistance to
IDPs in such circumstances and noted that they should be given a
gold medal for the works done.’ 48
(d) The committee appointed to study the US State Department Report
which included similar allegations has concluded based on more
credible evidence of Goverement Agents such as Mulative that
there had not been food shortages to cause death of civillains as
they had maintained buffer stocks for three months.

47 Dharshana Weerasekera, ‘A Factual Appraisal of the OISL Report: A Rebuttal to the Al-
legations against the Armed Forces’ (Raja Goonaratne and Kalyananda Thiranagama eds,
2018) <http://www.sinhalanet.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/GSLF_In_the_Defence_of-
the_Armed_Forces_of_Sri_Lanka_Vol_01.pdf> accessed 17 February 2024.
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48 Minutes of the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance dated 30 January
2009. This Minutes has been cited in the Report titled ‘A Factual Appraisal of the OISL
Report: A Rebuttal to the Allegations against the Armed Forces’ authored by Dharshana
Weerasekara and co-edited by this writer in 2018 and available at <http://www.sinhalanet.
net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/GSLF_In_the_Defence_of-the_Armed_Forces_of_Sri_
Lanka_Vol_01.pdf
law.faculty@kdu.ac.lk
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