Residents of a Mullaitivu village were given back their lands, on the condition that the land would be re-seized by the Sri Lankan Air Forces if there was a resurgence of war.

Landowners in Kepapilavu, Mullaitivu had their lands returned to them, reports Uthayan, but only after being forced to sign documents acknowledging that the land would be returned to the air forces in the case of another armed conflict. The clause stated that the land should be returned willingly or seized by court order.

“Human rights are used as a tool to implement motivated agendas with no understanding or appreciation of the complexity of issues in the countries concerned. Human rights should be recognised by all as a moral and ethical concept rather than as a political tool. External intervention without adequate consideration of the structures in a society and cultural traditions of the countries where such intervention takes place, inevitably results in de-stabilisation, which is very much in evidence today, in most parts of the world.”

“Most of the incidents referred to by the oral update are part of a larger pattern aimed at creating the conditions of permanent subjugation of the Tamil people as a whole - a process of de-Tamilsation which we interpret as the structural genocide of the Tamil Nation in Sri Lanka. An honest and forthright appreciation of the problems that face the Tamil people is fundamental and we call upon the OHCHR to conduct the inquiry in this spirit.”

The UK, Canada and European Union urged Sri Lanka to cooperate with the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka, following the oral update by the UN human rights chief on Thursday, whilst other states including Pakistan and the 'Like Minded Group', decried the OISL mandate as not in line with the UN Human Rights Council's core principles.

India called for the "timely" implementation of the LLRC and for the military to be removed from the Northern province, reiterating that it wishes for a political solution on the island that respects the political aspirations of the Tamil people.

Ireland said the investigation team has to be allowed to collect witness testimonies and that no one should be subject to reprisals, while the Philippines stressed the importance of timely accountability for reconciliation. Switzerland called on the Sri Lankan government to allow the Northern Provincial Council to fully function, noting that it was still not able to do so.

Addressing the Council immediately after the oral update, Sri Lanka reiterated its rejection of the investigation, stating, "to those who continue to urge that Sri Lanka to revisit this position, I wish to respectfully reply that government of Sri Lanka does not wish to help legitimise a flawed process and have a detrimental precedent established." See here for more.

“Tamil areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka still remain under heavy military occupation. 85% of Sri Lanka’s Sinhala military is deployed in Tamil areas and 96% of Tamils live within 5-miles of an army base or checkpoint. As the High Commissioner himself pointed out, there is alarming increase in threats against human rights defenders, victims and witnesses, and there is severe escalation of violence against Tamil people of Muslim and Christian faiths.”