By

D.B.S. Jeyaraj

A highly respected statesman of international stature with immense experience in helping resolve prickly issues in the sphere of international relations is strongly tipped to co- head the forthcoming UN Probe on Sri Lanka.

Martti Ahtisaari

It is learnt reliably that former Finland President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari has been picked to jointly lead the probe into the war in Sri Lanka from the years 2002 to 2009 to be conducted by the office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner in terms of the resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council on March 26th in Geneva.

Martti Ahtisaari will together with former New Zealand Governor-General and Cambodia war crimes tribunal judge Dame Silvia Cartwright jointly lead the UN investigation into the final phase of the war in Sri Lanka and help ascertain the extent of human rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The decision about Martti Ahtisaari’s role in the UN probe on Sri Lanka was kept under wraps for a while by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Navanetham Pillay as the UN Human Rights chief was trying to get an illustrious personality of international stature from an Asian or African country to serve on the probe panel instead of a representative of a Western nation.

Several persons of Afro-Asian nations were sounded out including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the position but Ms. Pillay’s efforts in this regard proved unsuccessful. Hence it is now almost certain that Martti Ahtisaari and Silvia Cartwright will jointly lead the UN probe on Sri Lanka.

However informed UN related sources stated that if an alternative candidate from Africa or Asia is found even at the eleventh hour then Martti Ahtisaari will step down. The sources said that such an eventuality is highly unlikely and that the former President of Finland participating in the probe seems to be a certainty.Although arrangements and logistics for the probe is finalised it is yet to be officially confirmed and publicly announced.Observers however do not rule out the possibility of last minute changes but opine that the changes if any wont be drastic.

Martti Ahtisaari and Silivia Cartwright will serve in the positions of International Experts on the UN probe panel and jointly lead the investigation into Sri Lanka’s war for the 2002-2009 period. The probe related work will be carried out by the office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner and will be coordinated by a senior UN official Ms. Sandra Beidas.

Former New Zealand Governor-general and Cambodian war crimes Tribunal judge Dame Silvia Cartwright was earlier appointed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Navanetham Pillay as one of the two experts to jointly lead the UN Probe on Sri Lanka. 70 Year old Dame Sylvia Rose Cartwright(nee Poulter) who served as New Zealand’s 18th Governor-General from 2001 to 2006 has tendered her resignation as Cambodia war crimes tribunal judge to serve on the UN Sri Lanka probe .

Since the senior coordinator Ms. Sandra Beidas is a British national the scenario is one where the top trio in charge of the Sri Lankan probe will all be from Western nations.As stated earlier Mr. Martti Ahtisaari is from Finland and Dame Cartwright hails from New Zealand.The inclusion of a former President and a former Governor-General has enhanced the international stature of the investigation and will attract widespread global attention when the probe gets underway.

Though the current UN Human Rights Commissioner Ms.Navi Pillay will be quitting her post in August this year the respected jurist from South Africa has done the necessary spadework and set up the appropriate mechanism for the UN probe into Sri Lanka in terms of the UN resolution.. Her successor does not have any choice other than to follow the guidelines and framework established by Ms.Navi Pillay on the matter.The Jordanian UN ambassador, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, has been appointed the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Martti Ahtisaari and Silvia Cartwright will work on a pro-bono basis for the period of 10 months, to provide high level expertise and guidance to the investigation, analysis and preparation of the final report. Although in practice the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) staff will conduct the investigation the final report will be authorised by the two pro bono experts and will be released in their names.

While the initial outlay of budget and staff for the UN probe is not finalised, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has earmarked three human rights investigators, one legal advisor, a senior coordinator, an administrator and a Sinhala and Tamil translator to be part of the investigation panel. One of the human rights investigators will specialise in gender issues, according to the preliminary staffing outline.

A forensic consultant to analyse photographic and video material and an archiving consultant will also be enlisted for shorter periods.Provision has also been made for a single security officer to travel with the investigating team if access is granted to Sri Lanka.

A preliminary budget of $ 1.4 million has been allocated for the investigation, but the figure could be higher by the time the probe is officially announced.

The investigators will consult with three ‘relevant’ UN Special Rapporteurs, namely Extra Judicial and Arbitrary Killing, the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances and the mandate holder on Torture.

Budgets allocations have been provided for the two pro-bono experts namely Martti Ahtisaari and Sylvia Cartwright , to travel to Geneva, Sri Lanka and the Asia Pacific, and for one of the experts to travel to Europe and North America for five days each.

“The two experts will participate in information gathering and interviews with victims and witnesses in these locations,” a UN document stated.

Four staffers from the investigating teams will also travel to the Asia Pacific region for 10 days each, two staffers will travel to Europe for seven days and another two will travel to North America for seven days – “all to access victims and witnesses now living outside the country and other relevant sources of information”.

The inclusion of Martti Ahtisaari is likely to be welcomed by human rights activists on a global scale as the former Finland President has wide international experience in global trouble spots and peace negotiations.

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari born on 23 June 1937 was the tenth President of Finland from 1994–2000. Ahtisaari was a United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo, charged with organizing Kosovo status process negotiations, aimed at resolving a long-running dispute in Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.

In October 2008, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his efforts on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts”. The Nobel statement said that Ahtisaari has played a prominent role in resolving many conflicts in Namibia, Aceh, Indonesia, Kosovo and Iraq, among other areas.

It may be recalled that during the tenure of President Chandrika Kumaratunga there were efforts made to obtain the services of Martti Ahtisaari as a Peace mediator cum negotiator between the then Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The moves reportedly initiated by former adviser to the President Dr. Ram Manikkalingam did not succeed then due to a number of reasons.

DBS Jeyaraj can be reached at djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com