Muttur Massacre: Twenty years on, accountability cannot wait any longer

Twenty years ago, on 4 August 2006, 17 humanitarian aid workers from Action Against Hunger (ACF) were brutally killed in Muttur, Sri Lanka, a gruesome attack for which there has still been no accountability.

In a joint statement on the anniversary, the members of the Ministerial Group for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel (Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Switzerland and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) noted, “their killing remains one of the most serious single incidents of violence against humanitarian personnel. It is also a stark reminder of the risks faced by national and local humanitarian workers, who continue to bear a disproportionate share of attacks and other threats in the course of their work.”

Legal Action Worldwide welcomes yesterday’s call by UN experts urging the Government of Sri Lanka to finally conduct a genuine, independent investigation into these killings. Because two decades of impunity not only undermines international law and, specifically, the legal protections for humanitarian personnel, it prolongs the suffering of victims’ families. As the experts observed:

“The victims’ families have endured two decades of waiting, threats and displacement, without answers or effective remedy. Their suffering may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in itself.”

The Muttur massacre further demonstrates the devastating ripple effects of attacks on humanitarian personnel. As the UN experts noted, the killings disrupted water rehabilitation, food distribution and agricultural support for more than 325,000 displaced people, exposing already vulnerable communities to unsafe drinking water, malnutrition and water-borne disease at a time when humanitarian assistance was indispensable.

Attacks on aid workers are not only crimes against those who serve, they are attacks on the civilian populations who depend on humanitarian assistance. When such attacks go uninvestigated and unpunished, the consequences extend far beyond the immediate victims, undermining humanitarian action and jeopardising the fundamental rights to life, health, food, water, sanitation and adequate shelter.

Twenty years on, accountability cannot wait any longer.

Legal Action Worldwide is working to strengthen the protection of humanitarian personnel through legal advocacy, documentation, and accountability initiatives. Our work focuses on documenting attacks, supporting efforts to advance accountability, and promoting stronger implementation of the international legal framework protecting humanitarian personnel. LAW is an implementing partner of the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, launched last year and now with 114 signatories. Through the Declaration, States – including Sri Lanka – have in particular committed to “conducting full, prompt, impartial, independent, transparent and effective investigations into incidents affecting the security of humanitarian personnel and use national and international legal mechanisms, as appropriate, to hold perpetrators to account, taking into account the primary responsibility of states to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice perpetrators of international crimes.” (para 21.4.a) and to “take a victim/survivor-centred approach to justice and accountability, including, where available, through appropriate remedies and support for victims and their families, including funding for independent legal assistance and by amplifying the voices of victims, survivors and witnesses in relevant fora.” (para 21.4.c)