Tamil families of the disappeared held a protest outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office this morning in Jaffna as they demand answers regarding the fates and locations of their forcibly disappeared loved ones. 

The families have been holding roadside protests since 2017 under horrible weather conditions calling for justice and accountability. 

"Where are they? Where are our loved ones?" the families chanted. 

"The international community must help us find out the fate of our loved ones," one mother said. 

"Why are the Sri Lankan security forces monitoring and threatening us? For what reason are they videoing and photographing us?" she added. 

The women-led families have been calling for international action following the repeated failures of domestic mechanisms.  

In their search for truth and justice, the families of the disappeared and lawyers acting on their behalf continue to face threats and harassment from the Sri Lankan authorities. Despite the intense surveillance and harassment, the women-led families of the disappeared have defiantly continued their protests. 

Throughout their protest, Tamil families have maintained simple demands: 

1. Release a list of surrendees from the final phase of the armed conflict;

2. Release the yearly lists of detainees under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) since 1978;

3. Investigate and release the list of all past and present secret detention centres;

4. Continuously consult families to keep them at the centre of any solution; and

5. Commence all four transitional justice mechanisms in tandem, including a justice mechanism.

However, the current Sri Lankan government and its predecessors have ignored their demands.