Sri Lanka’s government says it’s considering a process similar to South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission to heal the wounds of its decades-long civil war.
The Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that two senior ministers will lead a team to South Africa on Thursday for discussions with the country’s government and the ruling African National Congress.
The visit is an apparent move to soften a third U.S.-sponsored resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council over Sri Lanka’s failure to properly investigate alleged atrocities and war crimes committed during the civil war against minority Tamil rebels, which ended in 2009.
A body modelled after South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission could enable offenders to publicly admit their crimes and avoid prosecution.