September 25, 2023
For Immediate Release<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Markham, Canada –<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n On September 6, 2023, the UN Human Rights Council released the written update (<\/em>A\/HRC\/54\/20<\/em><\/a>)<\/em> from the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, pursuant to its resolution 51\/1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We appreciate the UN High Commissioner’s report’s calls for deeper institutional reforms and tangible actions in accountability, reconciliation, and human rights. We also commend the inclusion of the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of “Black July,” the anti-Tamil pogroms. However, we remain deeply concerned that the Council has not taken stronger action to address the persistent pleas from Eelam Tamils living in their traditional homelands on the island, as well as from the global diaspora, who continue to advocate for referring Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed against the Tamil people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this session, the Tamil Rights Group (TRG) actively advocated for transitional justice mechanisms and expressed support for the renewal of the resolution next year. Among TRG’s efforts during this session, it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n