Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Delay only justified if OISL gathers more evidence from victims - ICET

The International Council of Eelam Tamils (ICET) urged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that the UN inquiry obtains additional evidence from the victims in the North-East, stating that only this could justify the 6 months delay in publishing its report on the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL).

"The only way this delay can be justified is if the OISL personnel gather additional evidence from the victims on the ground. We sincerely hope that OHCHR will tenaciously use its powers to gain unhindered access for the OISL team to directly gather the necessary evidence. Only such action can justify the delay in the process to bring justice to the victims," ICET said in a statement on Monday.

The OISL report, which was scheduled to be released at the UN Human Rights Council's 28th session next month, was on Monday deferred till September, in order to give Sri Lanka 6 months to cooperate with the inquiry in view of gathering further information.

Describing the postponement as "extremely disappointing to the victims who have been awaiting justice far too long while continuing to suffer under military occupation" the ICET said "the only ray of hope is the High Commissioner's statement, "There should be no misunderstanding, I give my personal, absolute and unshakable commitment that the report will be published by September."

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.