Photograph: Tamil Guardian

The leader of the British opposition Jeremy Corbyn reiterated the Labour party’s commitment to achieving justice and self-determination for the Tamil people.

(See live tweeting from the event here. Video extract of statement produced below)

After being received with a standing ovation at a meeting of the Labour party with the Tamil community in the Houses of Parliament, Mr Jeremy Corbyn, in his concluding, remarks said,

“We as a party are very committed to the issues of human rights and justice. We are very committed to the rights of peoples, Tamil people, in this case, to achieve their justice, their self-expression and their self-determination.”

Tamils in the North-East reiterated calls for self-determination, as the Sri Lankan government’s Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms launched its first meeting in Jaffna this week.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena declared his government was “determined to face” a UN Human Rights Council resolution in order to protect the “pride and dignity” of the armed forces.

Photograph: Will Baxter/Freedom From Torture

Tamil torture victims who suffered at the hands of the Sri Lankan government called on the UN Human Rights chief to ensure that an “internationalised justice process” takes place, ahead of his visit to the island this week.

In a report by UK-based charity Freedom From Torture and the survivor activist network Survivors Speak OUT, victims called on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to “deliver a strong message to the President and Prime Minister about the need for Sri Lanka to comply with the commitments it made to the UN Human Rights Council and the consequences if it fails to do so” during his visit to the island.