UNHRC Session: Sri Lanka Urged to Shift Focus from War Casualty Estimates to Truth-Seeking 🕊️

• Key Casualty Estimates & Data Revisions: - UN Secretary-General's Panel (Darusman Report): Upper-range estimate of up to 40,000 civilian deaths in the final phase; report acknowledged no authoritative or reliable final figure existed. - UN Country Team (2008–2009): Recorded 7,721 killed and 18,479 injured (noted as incomplete). - The Times (2009): Media extrapolation estimated ~20,000 deaths. - Department of Census & Statistics (2011 Household Enumeration): Recorded 8,998 total deaths (Jan–May 2009) in Northern Province, including 6,858 under "Other" (unattributed, may include combatants). • Post-Conflict & Rehabilitation Milestones: - Bureau of Rehabilitation: 12,196 former LTTE combatants successfully completed rehabilitation and reintegration. - Civilian Population: Approximately 290,000 individuals emerged alive from the final conflict zone. • Policy & Structural Recommendations: - Reconcile 2011 enumeration data with Office on Missing Persons, hospital, military, UN, and forensic records to create a verified, individual register of missing/dead. - Shift Geneva dialogue from statistical debate to human-centered truth-seeking. - Address international humanitarian law (IHL) gaps concerning asymmetric warfare involving non-State actors utilizing human shields. _Note: Data reflects official UN, DCS, and Bureau of Rehabilitation reports presented at the 63rd UNHRC Session._