UN continues to fail Tamils says former Chief Minister

The United Nations is deceiving itself and continuing to fail Tamils, ten years on from the genocide, by granting Sri Lanka an extension on its UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution, the former Chief Minister of the Northern Province has said.

Speaking to journalists after attending a rally with families of the disappeared in Kilinochchi on Monday, the former Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran said the UNHRC should understand the feeling behind the mass demonstrations across the North-East denouncing the extension to the resolution.

“At the close of the war when our people were killed in thousands and genocide was committed, the UN and the international community failed in their Responsibility to Protect (R2P) our people. Our people expected at least after the war they would abide by their obligations and stand firm in meting out justice to the people affected. Our people now feel cheated at what has and what is taking place,” Wigneswaran said.

“If further time is granted to Sri Lanka to execute the contents of the resolution of the UNHRC this year it would amount to not only cheating our affected people but also UNHRC deceiving itself,” he said.

Highlighting the Sri Lankan president’s repeated assertions that much of the content of the resolution, especially war crimes inquiries, would not be implemented, Wigneswaran questioned the purpose of granting further time.

“That is why we have requested that the ICC should handle the Sri Lankan matter,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s defiance of its commitments to the human rights council “would considerably weaken the jurisdiction of the UNHRC in the future,” he added.