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

我的论文考察了失败的过渡司法项目和相关的有罪不罚在战后斯里兰卡与战争有关的暴行。影片探讨了泰米尔少数民族妇女为亲人争取真相和正义的斗争，这些亲人在斯里兰卡政府与泰米尔少数民族武装组织泰米尔伊拉姆猛虎解放组织（LTTE）的内战（1983 - 2009）中失踪。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、澄清等，用于处理战后和后专制社会中大规模侵犯人权的遗留问题。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，并困扰着整个国家。斯里兰卡后殖民历史的特点是，与三次独立的暴力起义有关的国家和非国家行为体所犯下的失踪事件循环往复：1971年的第一次南方起义；1988年至1991年的第二次南方叛乱，以及斯里兰卡政府与猛虎组织之间的内战。根据联合国的数据，斯里兰卡是世界上强迫失踪事件第二高的国家。这也是一段长期有罪不罚的历史，法律记录中只有两起肇事者被追究责任。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，使这些家庭无法解脱，破坏了战后斯里兰卡的和平与和解。除了斯里兰卡的焦点，并遵循跨学科的方法，我的论文建立在现有的奖学金，以提供新的见解：a)国家被边缘化群体所看到和经历，b)女权主义奖学金的政治阻力，以及c)国际行动者在问责制过程中的作用。这份奖学金申请将使我能够巩固我的个人资料，并在学术界发展事业。为此，我将：1。力争在国际同行评议的期刊上发表研究成果；2 .向学术和非学术利益攸关方传播我的工作，并为有关侵犯人权问责的国际学术和政策讨论作出贡献；3 .培养自己的教学理念和教学技巧；制定一份拨款提案，以进行进一步的研究，提交给英国科学院和利华休姆和惠康信托基金。这个奖学金将使我具体成长为一个研究人员，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。在攻读博士学位之前，我在知名政府机构工作多年，积累了丰富的经验，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，如穆斯林妇女研究与行动论坛和国际民族研究中心；以及生活在穆斯林法律下的妇女国际团结网络（WLUML）。我将以这一经验为基础，实施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、从事人权和过渡时期司法工作的联合国官员以及学者。我之所以选择爱丁堡大学作为主办大学，是因为它在法律、政治、暴力以及人权和过渡时期司法方面的卓越研究得到了全球的认可。我将与爱丁堡的两个卓越中心——和平与冲突解决证据平台和南亚研究中心——合作，分别专门研究过渡时期司法和南亚，以实施该奖学金的经济经济方面。

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.