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HomeEnglishTamil undergraduates reject UN Human Rights Council's resolution on Sri Lanka

Tamil undergraduates reject UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on Sri Lanka

An initial response to the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on Sri Lanka from the war-torn North has been one of deep anguish and disappointment. Whilst Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry calls it ‘unprecedented, dangerous and toughest ever,’ a Tamil undergruaduates body in the North has slammed it as ineffective and falls short of their long-standing demand for accountability.

The Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU) has said the resolution “Will Encourage Atrocity Crimes Against Tamils by Sri Lankan soldiers stationed in Tamil areas”.

In the vote at the 51st session of the UNHRC held on Thursday (6) while 20 nations voted for the resolution a similar number abstained and seven nations voted against the resolution.

Rejecting the resolution as ‘unjust’ the JUSU signatories A.Vijayakumar and J.Rabin said it has dashed the hopes of the war-affected Tamils.

“We Tamils have paid a heavy price over the years and hoped that this Resolution will, at last, bring justice. But our hopes were dashed by this Resolution. This Resolution does not exhibit any knowledge or understanding of the atrocity crimes committed against Tamil people including the suffering and trauma Tamils faced”.

JUSU has said the UNHRC resolution has failed to address the atrocities Tamils encountered for several decades by successive Sri Lankan Governments.

“Instead of holding perpetrators to account, the Resolution whitewashed their atrocity crimes and bailed them out”.

The report of the High Commissioner has been termed insipid and just calls upon the government to take forward reconciliation, pursue investigations and prosecutions, take steps to end the influence of the military on civilian sphere, and reduce military presence in North East provinces among others, but has remained silent on referring war crimes accused to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and an international inquiry on alleged human rights offences according to the war affected Tamils.

Earlier several high ranking UN officials have endorsed the call to refer Sri Lanka to the ICC.

Tamils say JUSU report reflects their standpoint and the ground realities. War-affected Tamils say by not holding the security forces to account could encourage them further to commit atrocities.

Expressing fear about the continued military presence in the north where on average for every 19 civilians one military personnel is present as said by Jaffna district MP and leader of the Tamil National People’s Front Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam in parliament during the budget discussion, the JUSU said “the soldiers who killed thousands of Tamils and raped hundreds of Tamil women are the same soldiers still stationed in Tamil areas among Tamils including among their victims”.

Cutting across political affiliations all segments of the Tamil Community, JUSU, victim groups, political parties, MPs, and civil society organisations have called upon the UN Human Rights Commissioner to refer Sri Lanka to the ICC.

“But this Resolution completely ignored all our calls” JUSU has said.

The Jaffna University Students Union has also pointed out the UN’s Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka which says around 70 thousand Tamils were killed or unaccounted for during the final six months of the war.

International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) in February 2017 handed over details to the UN of Sri Lankan Military-run “Rape Camps”, where Tamil women are being held as “sex slaves”. Furthermore, Thousands of Tamils had disappeared, including babies and children.

The report adopted by the UNHRC chose to ignore the pain, suffering, and trauma of the victims and the Tamil Community says the JUSU release.

During the Vote, the USA, UK, Ukraine, and 17 other nations voted against Sri Lanka while as expected China along with Bolivia, Cuba, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela voted with Sri Lanka.

India along with Singapore, United Arab Emirates and others abstained.

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