Ananthy Sasitharan to address UNHRC

Former Northern Provincial Council Provincial Minister of Women’s Affairs and Rehabilitation and incumbent Eela Thamilar Suyatchi Kazhagam (Eelam Tamil Self Rule Party) General Secretary Ananthy Sasitharan will address the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 51st session meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, tomorrow (15), urging justice and accountability for missing persons in Sri Lanka. 

Speaking to The Morning from Geneva, Sasitharan said that she would address the ongoing UNHRC session, highlighting the point that a domestic mechanism to address issues regarding missing persons is merely “an eyewash”. 

The United National Front-led “yahapalana” (good governance) Government established the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), but there was no positive outcome, she claimed. 

“Officers were appointed to the OMP, salaries were allocated, and they held sessions across the country, but have they found the whereabouts of the missing persons?”

She added that the families of missing persons are not ready to rely on domestic mechanisms anymore. 

“We are providing evidence to the OMP, but there seems to be no improvement. Mothers of missing persons are continuously protesting, and none of the authorities are coming forward to resolve their long-term issues. We do not want this to drag on any further. Therefore, I will urge the UNHRC to recommend an effective solution to address the issues of missing persons, and to find their whereabouts,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Sasitharan along with Jaffna Mayor Visuwalingam Manivannan launched a charter in Geneva yesterday (13) calling for accountability and urging for an international truth-seeking mission in Sri Lanka against alleged genocide. 

Meanwhile, Sandhya Ekeneligoda, wife of disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, urged the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to pressurise the Sri Lankan Government to seek justice regarding the disappearance of her husband, calling for the support of the international community over the matter. As a human rights defender from Sri Lanka, Sandhya Ekneligoda addressed the 23rd session of the 402nd meeting of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances on Monday (12). 

Expressing disappointment over a comment made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2017 when he was the Prime Minister, Ekneligoda said: “The current President, when he was the Prime Minister in 2017, irresponsibly claimed that all disappeared persons should be assumed dead or as being abroad. Will he deliver justice in a country where impunity is the unofficially adopted policy in the midst of poverty and intimidation? The only thing that the victims could do now is to cry, lament, and pursue their struggle on the country’s streets.”

She also noted that many Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim women throughout the country are searching for their missing loved ones, adding that the Tamil mothers of the North have been at the forefront among them. While elaborating on the obstacles she faced from the military and Government institutions in her struggle to ascertain the whereabouts of her missing husband, Sandhya Ekneligoda pointed out that the Tamil mothers in the North too have faced many obstacles from the authorities in their struggle to find the whereabouts of their loved ones. 

“The mothers in the North too have faced many obstacles to obtain assistance from State institutions. Can you imagine the harassment that these Tamil-speaking mothers have faced, if I myself had to go through harassment despite being a Sinhalese person?” 

She pointed out to the Committee that at least 130 mothers from the North have died touching the photographs of their missing loved ones close to their hearts during their struggle. 

“The shaven head that I have, and the black gown that I wear today is evident of the fact that I come from a country that upholds impunity to the military, and does not assure justice for the victims,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs M.U.M. Ali Sabry PC, addressing the UNHRC session on Monday (12), mentioned that the Government will continue to provide the necessary support and resources to strengthen the functioning of the independent domestic mechanisms including the OMP. 

The OMP (Establishment, Administration, and Discharge of Functions) Act, No. 14 of 2016 was enacted in August 2016.