Overview of the SLMM

 

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) is the direct result of the Ceasefire Agreement entered between the Parties to the Sri Lanka conflict in February 2002. The mission was incepted by the CFA, containing its mandate, and supported by the five Nordic countries. The SLMM monitored the CFA until 16 January 2008, when the agreement was abrogated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) – at which date the operation subsequently ceased.

The SLMM is a unique organisation and was an unparalleled operation: The organisation is rather unique in the sense that the mission was created with no body to supervise or govern it, thereby being truly autonomous. The SLMM is under the leadership of an independent Head of Mission (HOM), appointed by the Government of Norway as the Facilitator of the peace process. In accordance with the CFA, the SLMM was not under command by neither Norway or any of the Nordic countries, nor from any of the Parties to the CFA.  The operation was quite unparalleled in the sense that it was a civilian monitoring mission, established by the Parties to the conflict.

 

The CFA

The Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed a Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) on 22 February 2002, which was in place until the notification of its abrogation by the GOSL on 2 January 2008. According to its paragraph 4.4, the CFA remains in force until notice of termination is given by either Party to the Norwegian Government, whereupon the effective date of operational termination commenced 14 days after the date of notification.

The Preamble to the CFA outlined the motivations and aspirations of the Parties; the overall objective was “to find a negotiated solution to the ongoing ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka”. In signing the CFA, the Parties recognised “the importance of bringing an end to the hostilities and improving the living conditions for all inhabitants affected by the conflict.” A ceasefire agreement, which must be clearly distinguished from a peace agreement, was seen as “a means of establishing a positive atmosphere on which further steps towards negotiations on a lasting solution can be taken”.

Based on the CFA, the governments of Norway and Sri Lanka concluded a Status of Mission Agreement (SOMA), also endorsed by the LTTE, detailing the status, privileges and immunities of the SLMM.

The CFA remained valid until the abrogation in January 2008. Although it had been violated by both Parties on a large number of occasions, no amendments to the CFA were ever agreed upon.

 

The SLMM

As an integral part of the CFA, the Parties agreed to establish an international monitoring mission; the SLMM. Thus, the SLMM was created by and for the Parties, receiving its mandate from them, as set out in the CFA, article 3; “to enquire into any act of violation of the terms and conditions of the Agreement”.

Based on the CFA and the SOMA, the SLMM was financed and staffed by the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), each recruiting monitors that were seconded to the mission. About 350 monitors served with the SLMM between 2002 and 2008. A total of five HOMs directed the mission, all appointed by the Norwegian Government (as stipulated by the CFA). In accordance with its mandate the SLMM conducted international verification through on-site monitoring, from the Headquarters (Colombo), six District Offices (Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee, and Vavuniya), several Points of Contact (PoC), and through two Naval Monitoring Teams operating from Jaffna and Trincomalee respectively. A Liaison Office was established in Kilinochchi. 

The first SLMM monitors arrived in Sri Lanka in March 2002, and the last ones left the island in February 2008.