Fourteen international human rights and victims’ organizations have called on the United Nations (UN) and the Government of Haiti to immediately suspend the planned deployment of nearly 900 Sri Lankan military personnel and 140 police officers to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti.
The appeal was made in a joint statement issued by organizations including the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), Sri Lanka Campaign, PEARL, and the British Tamil Forum.
The organizations argued that there is currently no independent and credible vetting mechanism to verify whether officers selected for deployment have been implicated in past human rights violations.
According to the statement, relying solely on internal military certifications and screening conducted by the United States Embassy is insufficient to ensure accountability.
The groups further claimed that the joint vetting mechanism previously conducted by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which had been used to assess Sri Lankan peacekeeping deployments, ceased functioning in 2024.
The statement also noted that at least one individual nominated for deployment had reportedly been rejected under the United States’ Leahy Law, arguing that this raised concerns regarding the effectiveness of the current screening process.
The organizations further referred to the involvement of Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) H. S. Sampath Thuyacontha and Air Commodore Asale Wasantha Jayasekara in the deployment process. They argued that officials who held positions subject to past institutional scrutiny should not oversee or certify the vetting of other personnel, while noting that neither official has been formally found personally responsible for human rights violations.
The joint statement also recalled previous United Nations investigations into allegations that Sri Lankan peacekeepers deployed to Haiti between 2004 and 2007 were involved in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors.
Accordingly, the organizations called on the United Nations to suspend the planned deployment until an independent vetting mechanism is established. They also urged the UN to publish the names and photographs of all personnel selected for deployment before they are sent to Haiti.
At the time of publication, there had been no official response from the Government of Sri Lanka, the United Nations, or the Haitian authorities regarding the requests made in the joint statement.
