A mass rally was held today in Geneva, Switzerland, to renew demands for justice and international accountability for the Tamil genocide, as Sri Lanka features on the agenda of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Hundreds of Tamils gathered outside the UNHRC to call on the international community to refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for carrying out a genocide against the Tamil nation.
Protesters also paid tribute to Lt Col Thileepan as today marks 38 years since he began his fast unto death. Similar commemorations were held in Amparai, Jaffna and Mullaitivu today.
The 60th session of the UNHRC kicked off last week with an interactive dialogue where the UN High Commissioner Volker Türk presented his latest report. Türk urged Colombo to take “decisive action” on accountability and reforms but stopped short of calling for a fully international accountability mechanism.
He went on to tell the international community to “support Sri Lanka’s own domestic processes,” even though Tamil victim-survivors have repeatedly said that these have failed to deliver any justice or accountability.
A draft UN resolution on Sri Lanka has also endorsed a domestic judicial mechanism and dropped previous calls for foreign judges.
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