Inscriptions and Erasures; Grief, Hope, and Rights: A Struggle for Truth and Justice for Disappearances in Postwar Sri Lanka

铭文和擦除；

• 批准号: ES/X007197/1
• 负责人: Chulani Tania Kodikara
• 金额: $ 11.95万
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FX007197%2F1
• 关键词: Inscriptions; Erasures; Grief; Hope; Rights

My thesis examines the failed transitional justice project and related impunity for war-related atrocities in postwar Sri Lanka. It does so by exploring the struggle for truth and justice waged by minority Tamil women on behalf of their relatives who disappeared during the civil war (1983 - 2009) between the Sri Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), a militant group from the minority Tamil community. Transitional justice refers to a set of judicial and non-judicial measures, such as prosecutions, truth commissions, reparations, apologies, lustration, etc., implemented to deal with legacies of massive human rights abuses in postwar and post-authoritarian societies.My work has ongoing significance as the women's struggle for truth and justice that I documented and analysed in my thesis continues and haunts the body politic. Sri Lanka's postcolonial history has been characterized by recurring cycles of disappearances committed by the state and non-state actors linked to three separate violent uprisings: the first southern insurrection of 1971; the second southern insurrection of 1988-1991 and the civil war between the Sri Lankan state and the LTTE. According to the United Nations, Sri Lanka has the second-highest recorded incidences of forced disappearances in the world. This is also a long history of impunity, where the legal record contains only two cases in which perpetrators have been held to account. The refusal of the Sri Lanka state to address the demand for truth and justice in relation to war-related atrocities has denied closure for these families and undermined peace and reconciliation in postwar Sri Lanka. Beyond the Sri Lanka focus, and following an interdisciplinary approach, my thesis builds on existing scholarship to offer new insights into a) the state as seen and experienced by marginalised groups, b) the feminist scholarship on political resistance, and c) the role of international actors in processes of accountability. This fellowship application will enable me to consolidate my profile and pursue a career in academia. To do so, I will:1. Aim to publish research in international, peer-reviewed journals;2. Disseminate my work to academic and non-academic stakeholders and contribute to international scholarly and policy discussions about accountability for human rights violations;3. Develop my teaching philosophy and skills;4. Develop a grant proposal to pursue further research for submission to the British Academy and the Leverhulme and Wellcome Trusts. This fellowship will enable me to concretely grow as a researcher, give me time to publish my research, build networks, and engage in knowledge exchange and impact activities. Prior to my PhD, I acquired extensive experience over many years working with high-profile government bodies such as the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process and the Consultation Task Force Reconciliation Mechanisms; local NGOs such as the Muslim Women's Research and Action Forum and the International Centre for Ethnic Studies; and the international solidarity network Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML). I will build on that experience to implement a robust impact and knowledge exchange agenda. The beneficiaries of my research include the women next of kin of the disappeared, Sri Lankan and international human rights activists and policymakers, UN Officials working on human rights and transitional justice, and academics. I have chosen Edinburgh as the host university because it is a globally recognised institution for research excellence on law, politics, and violence, as well as human rights and transitional justice. I will collaborate with two Edinburgh centres of excellence-Peace & Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform and Centre for South Asian Studies-working specifically on transitional justice and South Asia respectively to implement the KEI aspect of this fellowship.

我的论文研究了战后斯里兰卡与战争相关的暴行的失败过渡司法项目和相关的有罪不罚现象。这样做是通过探索泰米尔妇女代表其亲戚在内战（1983年至2009年）在斯里兰卡国家与泰米尔·伊拉姆（LTTE）的解放老虎之间消失的亲戚（LTTE）之间消失的亲戚的斗争。过渡正义是指实施的一系列司法和非司法措施，例如起诉，委托，赔偿，道歉，义务等，以应对战后和自治后社会的大规模侵犯人权的遗产。斯里兰卡的后殖民历史的特征是，与三个独立的暴力起义有关的州和非国家行为者犯下的失踪周期的反复循环：1971年的第一次南方叛乱； 1988 - 1991年的第二次南方起义以及斯里兰卡州与猛虎组织之间的内战。据联合国称，斯里兰卡是世界上强迫失踪的第二高。这也是一个有罪不罚的悠久历史，法律记录仅包含两个犯罪者的案件。斯里兰卡州拒绝解决与战争相关的暴行有关的对真理和正义的需求，这否认了这些家庭的关闭，并破坏了战后斯里兰卡的和平与和解。除了斯里兰卡的重点，并遵循跨学科的方法之外，我的论文还建立在现有的奖学金之外，以提供新的见解a）边缘化群体所见和经历的国家，b）女权主义政治抵抗的奖学金，以及c）国际行为者在问责制过程中的作用。该奖学金申请将使我能够巩固自己的个人资料并从事学术界的职业。为此，我将：1。旨在在国际，同行评审期刊上发表研究； 2。将我的工作传播给学术和非学术利益相关者，并促进有关侵犯人权责任的国际学术和政策讨论； 3。发展我的教学理念和技能； 4。制定一项赠款建议，以进一步研究向英国学院和勒沃尔姆和惠康信托基金会提交。这项奖学金将使我能够成为研究人员的具体成长，给我时间发表研究，建立网络并从事知识交流和影响活动。在获得博士学位之前，我多年来获得了与备受瞩目的政府机构（例如秘书处协调和平进程和咨询工作队和解机制）的丰富经验；当地非政府组织，例如穆斯林妇女研究与行动论坛和国际种族研究中心；以及根据穆斯林法律（WLUML）居住的国际团结网络妇女。我将在实施强大的影响力和知识交流议程的基础上进行基础。我的研究的受益者包括失踪的亲戚，斯里兰卡和国际人权活动家和政策制定者，联合国官员的人权和过渡司法官员以及学者。我之所以选择爱丁堡大学，是因为它是全球认可的法律，政治和暴力研究卓越研究机构，以及人权和过渡司法。我将分别与爱丁堡两个卓越和冲突的证据平台和南亚研究中心合作，分别针对过渡司法和南亚进行工作，以实施该奖学金的KEI方面。