Tamil families hand over urgent demands for international justice to UN rights chief 

As United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk visited Jaffna this week, Tamil families of the disappeared and protestors at the Chemmani mass grave site handed over a series of urgent demands, underscoring their insistence on international justice.

During his visit, Türk met with relatives of the forcibly disappeared and representatives from the Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances in the North and East, who presented him with a letter detailing the harrowing legacy of Sri Lanka’s enforced disappearances and mass atrocities. The letter, dated 24 June 2025, described how thousands of Tamils were forcibly disappeared after surrendering to the Sri Lankan military during the final months of the armed conflict in 2009.

“We have been misled repeatedly by the government and domestic mechanisms. We have lost faith,” the letter read. “We firmly declare that we will not accept any domestic process. Only an international justice mechanism can deliver the truth and accountability we seek.” 

The families urged Türk to use his office to act before the end of his term, stating, “While some of us are still here to give eyewitness testimony, in just a few years, even those of us who remain will pass away, and the living memory of these crimes will be lost forever.”

The letter outlined three key appeals:

1.    Accountability through investigation into senior military personnel who controlled key regions—Mullivaikkal, Selvapuram, Mathalan, and Omanthai—where surrenders occurred in 2009.

2.    International sanctions and escalation of the issue to the UN General Assembly, citing years of Sri Lanka’s non-compliance with UN Human Rights Council directives.

3.    International supervision of mass graves, including the ongoing excavation at Chemmani, to prevent interference and ensure forensic standards are upheld.

“As mothers still searching for their children, our minds are under unbearable pressure,” their letter concluded. “We live without peace. We implore you to consider the aging mothers who now stand at the edge of life. Think of them as your own mothers. We ask you - with urgency and deep sorrow - to fulfil these final, heartfelt requests before your tenure ends.”

Their demands were reiterated by other protestors at the “Unextinguished Flame” vigil, who also handed Türk a copper plaque engraved with six core demands, echoing calls for international accountability.

The plaque, handed over on behalf of the People's Protest for International Justice for the Chemmani Mass Grave, detailed the following:

1.    UN monitoring of excavations through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Sri Lanka Accountability Project (OSLAP).

2.    Unhindered access for evidence collection, ensuring international experts can collect, store, and analyse forensic evidence.

3.    Victim representation and technical assistance, with family members included in all stages of mass grave investigations.

4.    Expedited local funding, pressing the Sri Lankan government to release financial resources for excavation and forensic procedures.

5.    Re-examination of known mass graves, calling for fresh investigations under international oversight.

6.    Referral to the International Criminal Court, urging the escalation of Sri Lanka’s accountability failures to the UN General Assembly and Security Council for ICC action.

“This commemorative plaque… is a testament to the people's enduring pursuit of truth, justice, and international accountability,” read the text at the bottom of the plaque.

The calls come amid the renewed unearthing of skeletal remains at Chemmani, including those of infants, reigniting global attention on Sri Lanka’s mass graves. Türk visited the site this week, where he laid flowers before the symbolic flame and met with victims' families.