Draft Prepared to Establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Prof. Savithri
22-Jan-2026.
A draft proposal to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been prepared, and it can be taken forward if political leaders demonstrate the necessary political will to implement it, said Professor Savithri Gunasekara.
She stressed that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission must not be used as an alternative mechanism to evade punishment by diverting justice for grave criminal violence. It cannot serve as a substitute for
criminal accountability.
Professor Gunasekara made these remarks while addressing the “Black January – Still in Darkness” commemoration organised by the Free Media Movement and the Free Media Trade Union at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism on Jan 19.
She further stated that South Africa established its Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the aftermath of severe racial violence to promote reconciliation. However, the commission later attracted significant criticism. In particular, it cannot be used as a mechanism to grant amnesty for serious acts of violence.
Where grave violence has occurred, punishment must be imposed through criminal prosecutions under the penal law. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission cannot replace criminal punishment under the guise of reconciliation or justice for past violence.
She explained that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a mechanism intended to acknowledge the truth and foster reconciliation, where both victims and perpetrators accept what occurred and move towards mutual understanding. This process is socially significant.
However, establishing such a commission must not provide perpetrators of criminal offences an opportunity to escape punishment. Even if facts are revealed through the commission, any pending criminal cases must proceed through the justice system.
Professor Gunasekara revealed that during the 2015–2019 period, under the initiative of then President Maithripala Sirisena and then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, a group of legal experts led by her prepared a draft to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Elements of that draft were also incorporated into the legislation establishing the Office on Missing Persons.
She noted that it is worth discussing the implementation of a mechanism such as a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to ensure justice for killings, attacks, and repression carried out against freedom of expression. If political leaders demonstrate political will, further steps can be taken based on the existing draft.
At the same event, the importance of strengthening media education in schools was also highlighted. Professor Gunasekara questioned whether teachers, lecturers, and professors in schools and universities truly allow students the freedom to express their views.
