First meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons in Sri Lanka

As part of its programme to defend and promote human rights, the IPU provides assistance to Sri Lanka. At its suggestion, Mr. Marzuki Darusman, former Attorney General of Indonesia and member of the Indonesian Parliament, was included in the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), established to ensure that the proceedings of the Commission of Inquiry, due to investigate human rights abuses, were in conformity with international standards. In November 2006, the President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, set up the Commission of Inquiry to investigate 15 incidents of grave human rights abuses, including the killings of two members of parliament, Joseph Pararajasingham and Nadarajah Raviraj. See also issue No. 25 of The World of Parliaments.

The IIGEP, chaired by former Chief Justice of India, Mr. Bhagwhati, met in Colombo last in May to discuss the contents of a report and recommendations to be submitted to President Rajapakse. Its members exchanged views with the Commission of Inquiry on the establishment of the Commission's Investigations and Witness and Victims Assistance and Protection Units, and the role of the Attorney General's Office, which currently acts as the Commission's legal counsel.

The meeting provided IIGEP with an opportunity to observe the Commission's investigation into the killing of 17 workers belonging to a non-governmental organization, Action contre la Faim, in August 2006 in Muttur.

The Commission intends to prove its efficiency. It started with questioning - through Deputy Solicitor General Kodagoda - one of the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department who had dealt with this case in the past. In addition to holding hearings in Colombo, the Commission also intends to carry out visits to the crimes scenes and gather testimonies of witnesses. The Commission's Chairman, Justice Nissanka Udalagama, said that it was the Commission's "unwavering ambition to ensure that we ascertain the whole truth in respect of all incidents which the Commission is required to investigate". He added: "We will go to whatever extent that is required to ascertain the truth".

	EXHIBITION The plight of imprisoned parliamentarians-elect in Myanmar During the 116th Assembly of the IPU, the President of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, Senator Franklin Drilon of the Philippines, and the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mr. Agung Laksono, inaugurated an exhibition set up by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, at the entrance hall of the Bali International Conference Centre. The exhibition gave a face to and told the story of each of the twelve parliamentarians-elect in Myanmar who continue to languish in prison. Through this exhibition, the IPU Committee made an appeal for increased parliamentary action to help effect change in Myanmar.