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NPC Councillor urges international judicial process to address genocide

Northern Provincial Councillor MK Shivajilingam in a letter today urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussain, to consider a purely international mechanism to address accountability in Sri Lanka.

The councillor highlighted ongoing abuses and said the Tamil nation was being "systematically destroyed".

He also requested the high commissioner to take measures to "judicially address the genocide against the Tamil people", and to press Sri Lanka to sign and ratify the Rome statute, in order to prevent further atrocities and protect the Tamil population.

"The Tamil people have been subjected to Genocide and massacres, their churches and temples have been destroyed, their lands have been taken away, their rights have been denied, and they have been oppressed and occupied. The injustice against the Tamils continues even at this very moment," Mr Shivajilingam said.

"If Sri Lanka has genuine intention of cooperating with the UN, and genuinely interested in accountability, justice, non-recurrence and permanent political solution, it must show willingness and progress to the International Community and to the UN on all fronts. The Tamil people hope that the UN and the International Community obtain unambiguous commitment from Sri Lanka to fulfill these."

See full letter here.

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