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.

我的论文探讨了失败的过渡时期司法项目和战后斯里兰卡与战争有关的暴行相关的有罪不罚现象。它通过探索少数民族泰米尔妇女代表其在斯里兰卡国家与泰米尔伊拉姆猛虎解放组织（猛虎组织）之间的内战（1983 - 2009）中失踪的亲属为真理和正义而进行的斗争来做到这一点。过渡时期司法是指一套司法和非司法措施，如起诉、真相委员会、赔偿、道歉、净化等，我的工作具有持续的意义，因为我在论文中记录和分析的妇女争取真理和正义的斗争仍在继续，并困扰着政治体。斯里兰卡后殖民历史的特点是，国家和非国家行为者与三次独立的暴力起义有关的失踪事件循环往复：1971年第一次南方起义; 1988-1991年第二次南方起义和斯里兰卡国家与猛虎组织之间的内战。据联合国统计，斯里兰卡是世界上有记录的强迫失踪发生率第二高的国家。有罪不罚现象也由来已久，法律的记录中只有两起案件的肇事者被追究责任。斯里兰卡政府拒绝回应有关战争暴行的真相和正义的要求，使这些家庭无法结束，破坏了斯里兰卡战后的和平与和解。除了斯里兰卡的重点，并遵循跨学科的方法，我的论文建立在现有的奖学金提供新的见解a）国家看到和经历的边缘化群体，B）政治抵抗的女权主义奖学金，和c）国际行为者在问责过程中的作用。这个奖学金申请将使我能够巩固我的个人资料，并在学术界追求事业。要做到这一点，我会：1.目标是在国际同行评审期刊上发表研究;2。向学术和非学术利益相关者传播我的工作，并为有关侵犯人权行为责任的国际学术和政策讨论做出贡献;3.培养我的教学理念和技能;4.制定一个赠款提案，以追求进一步的研究提交给英国科学院和Leverhulme和惠康信托基金。这项奖学金将使我能够作为一名研究人员具体成长，给我时间发表我的研究，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，我获得了多年与知名政府机构合作的丰富经验，如协调和平进程秘书处和协商工作队和解机制;当地非政府组织，如穆斯林妇女研究和行动论坛和国际种族研究中心;以及国际团结网络穆斯林法律下的妇女（WLUML）。我将在这一经验的基础上实施一个强有力的影响和知识交流议程。我的研究的受益者包括失踪者的女性近亲，斯里兰卡和国际人权活动家和政策制定者，致力于人权和过渡时期司法的联合国官员以及学者。我选择爱丁堡作为主办大学，因为它是一个全球公认的机构，在法律，政治和暴力，以及人权和过渡司法方面的研究卓越。我将与爱丁堡两个卓越中心合作-和平与冲突解决证据平台和南亚企业中心-分别专门从事过渡时期司法和南亚工作，以实施该奖学金的KEI方面。