The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) landmark ruling that ordered Myanmar to enact measures to halt the ongoing genocide against the Rohingya is “a ray of hope for victims and survivors of genocide around the world, including Tamils” said People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) in a statement applauding the decision.
“PEARL welcomes this legally binding ruling, which is a blow to impunity and a demonstration of international, namely South-South, solidarity,” the statement read. “The orders were sent to the UN Security Council, which is enabled to ensure the implementation of the provisional measures. PEARL urges the Security Council to protect the Rohingya people from genocide — something the Council failed to do for Eelam Tamils in 2009.”
The Washington-based NGO went on to state that “Myanmar’s oppression of the Rohingya and Sri Lanka’s of the Tamil people are rooted in the same extremist Buddhist nationalist ideology pervasive among their respective majority populations”.
“The Sri Lankan state also stands accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the same four acts of genocide the ICJ order intends to stop in Myanmar,” it added. The statement concluded,
“This ICJ ruling is a ray of hope for victims and survivors of genocide around the world, including Tamils who struggle against persecution, impunity, inaction, and a fear of loss of evidence of the genocide against them. Their pains have only increased under the new president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, an alleged war criminal himself. PEARL hopes this ruling is a turning point in favor of justice. The rights- and rules-based global order cannot allow state-perpetrators of genocide such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka to elude justice — a prerequisite for non-recurrence and peace. We urge like-minded countries, including small states, to increase their pursuit of justice, especially for the most heinous, often identity-based crimes.”
See the full text of the statement here.
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