The Washington-based advocacy organisation People For Equality And Relief in Lanka (PEARL) has called on the international community to consider demands made by Tamil people in the North-East after a coalition of elected representatives of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, members of the Tamil victim communities, and Tamil civil society organizations united behind calls for Sri Lanka to face international accountability.
Criticising the UNHRC's failure to investigate alleged crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government and major Sinhala political parties, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, the groups further emphasised the absence of any domestic or hybrid mechanism that ensures accountability for the island.
“The joint call for action across Tamil groups in the North-East is a rare and significant act of solidarity demonstrating a complete lack of faith in domestic processes for justice and accountability In Sri Lanka,” attested Sahithyan Thilipkumar, PEARL’s Senior Advocacy Officer for the UNHRC. “To ensure justice is finally served, the Human Rights Council must heed the Tamil people’s demands and establish an independent investigative mechanism to address mass atrocity crimes.”
See the full statement here.
