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There are allegations that war crimes were committed by the Sri Lankan military and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) during the Sri Lankan Civil War, particularly during the final months of the conflict in 2009. The alleged war crimes include attacks on civilians and civilian buildings by both sides; executions of combatants and prisoners by both sides; enforced disappearances by the Sri Lankan military and paramilitary groups backed by them; acute shortages of food, medicine, and clean water for civilians trapped in the war zone; and child recruitment by the Tamil Tigers. A panel of experts appointed by United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Ban Ki-moon to advise him on the issue of accountability with regard to any alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the civil war found "credible allegations" which, if proven, indicated that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers. The panel has called on the UNSG to conduct an independent international inquiry into the alleged violations of international law. The Sri Lankan government has denied that its forces committed any war crimes and has strongly opposed any international investigation. In March 2014 the United Nations Human Rights Council authorised an international investigation into the alleged war crimes. War crimes are prohibited by the Geneva Conventions, of which Sri Lanka is a signatory. In 2002 the International Criminal Court (ICC) was created by the Rome Statute to prosecute individuals for serious crimes, such as war crimes. Sri Lanka is not a signatory of the Rome Statute. Therefore it is only possible for the ICC to investigate and prosecute war crimes in Sri Lanka if the UN Security Council was to refer Sri Lanka to the ICC, which is unlikely. However, individual countries may investigate and prosecute alleged culprits over whom they have jurisdiction, such as those with dual-nationality. In addition, a number of countries apply universal jurisdiction in respect of certain crimes, such as war crimes, allowing them to prosecute individuals irrespective of where the crime was committed, the nationality of the culprits and the nationality of the victims. ==Background== (詳細はindependent state of Tamil Eelam in the North and East of Sri Lanka since 1983. After the failure of the Norwegian mediated peace process in 2006 the Sri Lankan military launched offensives aimed at recapturing territory controlled by the Tamil Tigers. By July 2007 the military had recaptured all of the east. The military offensive in the north escalated in October 2008 as the Sri Lankan military attacked the Vanni heartland of the Tamil Tigers. After successive defeats the Tamil Tigers were forced to retreat to the north-east coast in Mullaitivu District. The civilian population of the Vanni also fled. The Sri Lankan government and human rights organisations have alleged that the civilians were forced to do so by the Tamil Tigers.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Trapped and Mistreated: LTTE Abuses against Civilians in the Vanni )〕 By January 2009 the Tamil Tigers and the civilians were trapped in a small piece of land on the north-east coast. As the Sri Lankan military advanced further into Tamil Tiger controlled areas, international concern grew for the fate of the 350,000 civilians trapped. On 21 January 2009 the Sri Lankan military declared a ''Safe Zone'' north-west of Puthukkudiyiruppu, between the A35 highway and Chalai Lagoon. According to the Sri Lankan the purpose of the ''Safe Zone'' was to allow the trapped civilians to cross into territory controlled by the military. However, very few civilians actually crossed into the military territory. The Sri Lankan military, UN and human rights organisations accused the Tamil Tigers of preventing the civilians from leaving. The fighting between the military and the Tamil Tigers continued, causing the civilians to flee from the ''Safe Zone'' to a narrow strip of land between Nanthi Kadal lagoon and the Indian Ocean. On 12 February 2009 the military declared a new ''Safe Zone'' in this area, north-west of Mullaitivu town. Over the next three months a brutal siege of the ''Safe Zone'' occurred as the military allegedly blitzed by land and air the last remnants of Tamil Tigers trapped in the ''Safe Zone''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Report to Congress on Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka )〕 Satellite images of the ''Safe Zone'' publishes by the UN, foreign governments and scientific organisations showed heavy damage that could have only been caused by bombardment.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Sri Lanka: Satellite Images, Witnesses Show Shelling Continue )〕 Inevitably many thousands of civilians were killed or injured.〔 The UN, based on credible witness evidence from aid agencies as well civilians evacuated from the ''Safe Zone'' by sea, estimated that 6,500 civilians were killed and another 14,000 injured between mid-January, when the ''Safe Zone'' was first declared, and mid-April.〔〔 There are no official casualty figures after this period but a report in The Times claims that that civilian deaths increased to an average of 1,000 per day after mid-April 2009. The UN has refused to confirm the Times' allegations. Estimates of the death toll for the final four months of the civil war (mid-January to mid-May) range from 15,000 to 20,000. A US State Department report has suggested that the actual casualty figures were probably much higher than the UN's estimates and that significant numbers of casualties were not recorded.〔 As the civil war edged towards a bitter end in late April/early May the number of civilians leaving the ''Safe Zone'' turned from a trickle to a torrent. On 19 May the Sri Lankan government declared victory. After the end of the war a number of countries and human rights organisations called for an independent investigation into the final stages of the civil war. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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