At least 12 members of the US Congress demanded the Biden administration ensure Sri Lanka is held to account for crimes committed against the Tamil people last month, with calls for the issue to be elevated to the International Court of Justice.
Foreign Policy obtained a copy of the letter that was sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken by members from both sides of the aisle last month, and reported that it urged the State Department to follow Article 30 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and hold Colombo, which has “consistently failed to make tangible progress toward justice and accountability,” responsible.
It went on to denounce the “horrific crimes” carried out against the Tamil people.
“In our view, the impunity enjoyed by Sri Lankan perpetrators, which has also enabled Sri Lanka’s economic and political crises, is counter to America’s commitment to upholding human rights and democratic principles and must be stopped,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio).
“No alleged Sri Lankan government or military perpetrator has been held responsible for international crimes in or outside Sri Lanka,” said Emilia Rowland, the communications director for Rep. Lee.
“State responsibility for torture can help address the impunity created by the utter lack of domestic and international criminal justice. Canada and the Netherlands recently took Syria to the ICJ. Ultimately, we hope to see the same happen for Sri Lanka.”
According to Foreign Policy, the letter calls on the State Department to “hold Sri Lanka to the U.N. torture conventions by opening up formal negotiations under the international statute, but if those measures and arbitration fails, Congress would like to see the Biden administration take the case all the way to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague”.
Read more from Foreign Policy here.
See the full text of the letter below.
NEW: @RepBillJohnson and I led 10 of our colleagues in a bipartisan letter calling on @StateDept to formally hold Sri Lanka responsible for its human rights abuses and violation of international humanitarian law carried out against the Tamil people. pic.twitter.com/wzP4FkofLN
— Congresswoman Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) September 21, 2023
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