Military law professionals from the U.S. Pacific Command Judge Advocate Office, in partnership with the American Embassy in Colombo, hosted a Military Law Exchange Programme to share methods of investigating and reporting human rights abuses, a press release issued from the US Embassy in Colombo said.
It said: ‘This is the second such program conducted by the US Pacific Command with legal officers, law enforcement officers, operational commanders, investigators and academics from the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, Attorney General’s Department, Armed Services of Sri Lanka, Police, National Human Rights Commission, and Kotalawela Defense University.
The three day program, led by Captain Pete A. Pedrozo, Staff Advocate Judge with the U.S. Navy, and a four member team at the Galadari Hotel, was an opportunity to exchange information and ideas on military justice systems and legal subjects relevant to both the United States and Sri Lanka. Subjects covered during the program included maritime law, coastal state enforcement authority, military justice, the appellate process, and preventing and investigating human rights violations.
"An important part of ensuring a future of hope and opportunity and facilitating a process of national reconciliation is ensuring respect for human rights. This is particularly important for the men and women of the armed services who represent the Government and the people of their country," US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake said at the program opening. "The United States has been a strong advocate for human rights in Sri Lanka. I am encouraged by the increasing complexity and practical nature of the discussions taking place here, which I hope will help the Sri Lankan military uphold the highest standards of military conduct."
Major General Mohanthi Peiris, Director General Legal of the Sri Lanka Army, thanked the US Ambassador and the US Pacific Command for initiating this law exchange program, stating, "The armed forces and police have taken several measures to educate the troops under their command of their legal and moral obligations to respect, and voluntarily and consistently comply with, international humanitarian law, and to protect the human rights of innocent civilians in the course of performing their duties." Major General Peiris also expressed her appreciation for the services and expertise of Captain Robert Huard, Special Assistant to the Staff Judge Advocate of US Pacific Command, who has been made available to Sri Lanka, on the initiative of Ambassador Blake, to assist with proposed amendments to the Service Acts and Regulations.
The Military Law Exchange Program was established by the U.S. Pacific Command, a department of the U.S. Navy, in 1995 as a means by which to exchange views on legal issues at the military-to-military level. Since then, the Pacific Command’s Judge Advocate Staff has conducted legal exchanges with Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Australia, Nepal, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, Maldives, Vietnam and Russia. In 2007, the Pacific Command’s Staff Judge Advocate’s Office hosted a similar program with the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defense to exchange ideas on ways to improve transparency, accountability, and human rights within the military justice system. This year’s seminar is part of a series of follow-on activities planned to further enhance Sri Lanka’s military justice institutions and promote accountability in the military.’
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