Tamil families of the disappeared protested in Mullaitivu and Vavuniya today to renew their calls for international accountability and mark Human Rights Day.
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948. The landmark document declares fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
Tamil families of the disappeared having been protesting across the North-East since February 2017 in an effort to find out the truth about their loved ones who have been forcibly disappeared at the hands of the Sri Lankan state. Many of those who were forcibly disappeared, were handed over to the state's security forces at the end of the armed conflict in May 2009. To this day, Sri Lanka has failed to investigate the disappearances and provide answers to the families.
Vavuniya
Vavuniya families of the disappeared, who were also marking 2485 days of their continuous roadside protest said that the "Tamil struggle for justice and equality has faced a series of violations."
They called on the international community to help "achieve self-determination and protect fundamental rights."
Mullaitivu
In Mullaitivu, the Tamil families of the disappeared said that Human Rights Day is "a day of mourning" for them.
The families chanted that they do not need compensation, death certificates or the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) from the Sri Lankan government, rather they need an international investigation into the enforced disappearances of their relatives.
The families alongside Tamil civil society and Tamil politicals have expressed their lack of confidence in domestic mechanisms, such as the OMP as they are flawed and have failed to fully investigate the disappearances. Despite multiple ledges from successive governments, the fate of the forcibly disappeared remains unknown.