The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) submitted a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council on February 24, mirroring a letter from the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF), expressing their disappointment with the UN Zero Draft of the Resolution on Sri Lanka for its failure to meet even "basic" demands held by Tamil Victims. 

The UK government remains concerned about the marginalisation of Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka, and about threats received by demonstrators during the Pottuvil to Polikandy march last month, a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Minister said. The remarks were submitted in response to written questions put forward by Scottish National Party Chief Whip Patrick Grady MP.

Writing in Just Security, former Senior Lecturer in Law at University of Jaffna, Dr Kumaravadivel Guruparan, highlights the failure of the international community to hold Sri Lanka’s war criminals to accounts and calls for “an honest debate on the inherent limits of the human rights system in preventing ongoing violations and dealing with historical atrocities”.

In light of previous futile domestic efforts to prosecute Sri Lankan war criminals, Andreas Schueller, Director of the International Crimes and Accountability Program at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) highlights the failure to prosecute Sri Lanka's war criminals under universal jurisdiction and highlights the need for a UN investigative mechanism to pursue accountability for Sri Lankan war crimes.

Germany's one-sided prosecution of war crimes

Human Rights Watch has called on Germany to push for a strong and effective resolution on Sri Lanka during this UN Human Rights Council session, noting their concern that a concession resolution would be an “illusion”.

Wenzel Michalski, HRW’s German Director, noted that it would require “senior government officials who are implicated in war crimes [to] condemned and hold themselves accountable for their own actions”. He further described the German ambassador in Colombo’s recent statements calling for a consensus resolution as “astonishing and disconcerting”.

Speaking to the Hindu, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary, Jayanath Colombage pleaded for Indian support during the UN Human Rights Councils 46^th session whilst also rejecting India calls for implementing the 13^th amendment.

In his statement, he attacked the UNHRC claiming that it operated on “double standards and hypocrisy”. It would be “very uncomfortable”, Colombage claimed, if regional powers did not extend their support to Sri Lanka as India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, “are battling COVID-19 and facing allegations of human rights violations”.

The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) expressed their disappointment with the draft resolution by the Core Group on Sri Lanka for failing to "even meet the basic expectations of the Tamil victims" in pursuing international accountability for war crimes committed by Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lankan soldiers blocked Tamil locals from fishing in Kurunthoor kulam (lagoon) located in Kurunthoormalai, Mullaitivu, as militarisation of the North-East intensifies. 

Vairamuthu Jayachandra, the captain of the ship MV Ahat, which was intercepted by the Indian navy and led to Colonel Kittu and nine other LTTE cadres committing suicide in 1993, passed away in Valvettithurai this week.

File photograph: Protest in Mannar calling for an end to forced cremations

Sri Lanka's Director General of Health Services, Asela Gunawardana, said that "it will take some time" to end the island's forced cremation policy.