Wednesday, 13th August 2014
Chamikara Weerasinghe
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to strengthen the International Advisory Panel to the Missing Persons Commission adding three more members making up six, Presidential spokesman Mohan Samaranayaka said yesterday.
Samaranayaka said several names are under consideration for appointment to advise the Missing Persons Commission, among them India’s noted rights activist and rural litigation pioneer Avdhash Kaushal.
Asked who the others were, Samaranayaka said: “There are many names, but none have been finalised yet.”
He said Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga told him that the chosen names for appointment to the advisory panel would be disclosed in two to three days.
Asked whether all of them were going to be persons from India, he said: “ Several names from many countries have caught the President’s attention.”
President Rajapaksa appointed a panel of experts consisting three members to advise the Missing Persons Commission in July to broaden its mandate to investigate complaints regarding forced or involuntary disappearances and alleged war crimes.
The members appointed to the Advisory panel are British lawyer and former United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leone, Sir Desmond de Silva, Sir Geoffrey Nice who worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and American lawyer, Prof David M. Crane.
Meanwhile, Avdhash Kaushal of India, an activist of the Dehradun-based NGO Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, had told Indian media that he had received a call from President Rajapaksa inviting him to be part of the Advisory Panel on Missions Persons Commission.
He has reportedly told Indian media that he had accepted the President’s invitation.
From : http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/three-more-added-advisory-panel
