Four Major Tamil Diaspora Groups Welcome OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka
The OHCHR under the leadership of different High Commissioners has been instrumental in ensuring that human rights and accountability in Sri Lanka remain under the international spotlight. Mr. V. Ravi Kumar, General Secretary of the British Tamils Forum noted, “We are pleased with the forthright and thorough assessment done by High Commissioner Bachelet in her report and endorse her calls “for the Government to demonstrate sustained commitment and leadership to move that agenda forward”, and “for the Council to continue to monitor and engage on developments in the country.”
“The report, in many aspects, is spot-on,” said Mr. M. Manokaran, Chairman of the Australian Tamil Congress (ATC). “While acknowledging some positives such as engagement with UN systems and incipient institution-building, the report rightly points out that these actions ‘have yet to produce concrete benefits for individual right holders,’ and ‘such slow progress in establishing meaningful transitional justice measures has engendered mistrust among victims and other stakeholders.’ As for the non-existent progress in criminal accountability, we fully concur with the report’s assessment that ‘virtually no progress has been made in investigating or prosecuting domestically the large number of allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity collected by OHCHR in its investigation, and particularly those relating to military operations at the end of the war.'”
The report categorically states that the Government has not moved fast enough with tangible confidence-building measures – viz. restitution of the land held by the military; repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act; effective conclusion of the cases of the remaining security detainees; no decisive progress on several emblematic cases involving security forces; stopping security force surveillance, harassment and torture; security sector reforms; and devolution of political authority. Dr. Vadivelu Shanthakumar, Chairman of the Canadian Tamil Congress, stated, “The abject failure to build confidence among the victimized Tamil community, which is essential prerequisite for successful transitional justice agenda, demonstrates the lack of will and urgency on the part of the Sri Lankan Government and its leaders.”
Mr. S. Seetharam, President of the US Tamil Political Action Council, said, “We concur with the High Commissioner’s view that ‘Sri Lanka has failed to seize the opportunity provided by the Human Rights Council to establish a trustworthy domestic mechanism to address impunity’ and support her call for the ‘application of universal jurisdiction principles’ and to explore ‘alternative measures including some forms of international investigation and prosecution to ensure that those most responsible for the most serious crimes are prosecuted,’ while Sri Lanka firmly remains in the UNHRC agenda.”
For further information, please contact:
S. Sivam,
President, US Tamil Political Action Council
T: +1 202 595 3123
Website: www.ustpac.org
Email: 210788@email4pr.com
Twitter: @UstpacAdvocacy
Dr. Vadivelu Santhakumar
President, The Canadian Tamil Congress
T: +1-416-240-0078
Website: https://www.canadiantamilcongress.ca/
Email: 210788@email4pr.com
V Ravi Kumar
General Secretary, British Tamils Forum
T: +44 (0) 7814 486087
Website: www.britishtamilsforum.org
Email: 210788@email4pr.com
Twitter: @tamilsforum
M. Manokaran,
Chairman, Australian Tamil Congress
T: +61 300 660 629
Website: http://www.australiantamilcongress.com
Twitter: @austamilcongres
SOURCE USTPAC