The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) released a statement earlier this week, calling for an international criminal tribunal to be pursued in order to prosecute those responsible for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka.

In a statement released at the start of the UN Human Rights Council’s 43^rd session this week, the ATC said that Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of a UN resolution on accountability “further proves warnings by the Tamil community that the cosponsoring was in itself not genuine and a delaying tactic.”

Sri Lanka’s defence secretary hit back at Human Rights Watch (HRW) last week, denying reports that the security forces had been threatening Tamil families of the disappeared, and claimed these were part of efforts to “discredit” Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a statement detailing the repeated failure of Sri Lanka to establish “a trustworthy domestic mechanism to address impunity” and urged the UN Human Rights Council to "create an international accountability mechanism as a matter of urgency".

On Thursday at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 43^rd session, several countries reacted to Sri Lanka’s withdrawal of co-sponsorship from council resolutions on promoting accountability, reconciliation and human rights on the island.

Most countries expressed disappointment and concern at Sri Lanka’s decision.

“Those who were directly affected by the conflict, including the families of the disappeared, require closure and answers in order to build sustainable peace,” the Canadian mission said.

A Tamil woman who has been protesting for more than three years, demanding information on her forcibly disappeared grandson, passed away on Wednesday.

Selvam Sivapakkiyam, originally from Mukamalai, Jaffna, but temporarily living in Puthukkudiyiruppu, has been joined hundreds of other Tamil protestors across the North-East, as she searched for her grandson in Mullaitivu. 

A group of Tamil torture survivor, who suffered rights violations at the hands of Sri Lankan security forces, wrote to the UN human rights chief earlier this week, criticising her failure to acknowledge ongoing torture on the island.

Your report this week… caused us great hurt and anguish,” said the letter. “You erased us from the record.”

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister spoke out against member states who had expressed disappointment at Colombo’s withdrawal from a UN resolution this morning, as he launched a staunch defence of the Sri Lankan army chief who was recently subjected to sanctions by the United States.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed her “regret” at the Sri Lankan government’s announcementof officially withdrawing co-sponsorship of a resolution and called on the Human Rights Council to “to remain alert to this situation in terms of prevention and to explore all possible avenues for advancing accountability”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister has officially announced the country’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council resolutions ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’.

Speaking in Geneva on Wednesday, minister of foreign relations Dinesh Gunawardena criticised the previous government’s decision to co-sponsor Resolution 30/1 and subsequent resolutions.

“It remains to date a blot on the sovereignty and dignity of Sri Lanka,” he said.