Tamil American organisations have called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to recognise the struggle of the Eelam Tamils as an unresolved case of decolonisation, warning that decades of inaction have entrenched impunity for genocide and denied justice to survivors.
In a joint letter dated 17 August 2025, five leading Tamil American groups, including the Federation of Global Tamil Organizations (FGTO), the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA), Ilankai Tamil Sangam, the Tamil Americans United Political Action Committee, and the World Thamil Organization, urged member states of the UNHRC to move beyond “failed resolutions” and adopt a principled new approach.
The organisations condemned Sri Lanka’s “continued rejection” of UNHRC resolutions since 2009 and expressed “profound disappointment” at the Council’s inability to deliver any tangible accountability in the sixteen years since the massacres at Mullivaikkal. They warned that the UN’s failure to act has “severely undermined the Tamil community’s confidence in the UNHRC process”.
Chemmani mass graves underscore impunity
Citing the recent discovery of over 140 skeletons at Sinthupaththi, part of the infamous Chemmani site in Jaffna, the groups stressed the urgent need for international forensic investigations.
The site was first identified in 1998 through the testimony of Sri Lankan army Corporal Somaratne Rajapakse, who confessed in court that 300–400 bodies were buried there under military orders. Although 15 bodies were exhumed in 1999, further investigations were halted despite calls from Amnesty International.
“The rediscovery of this site by a construction crew this year reaffirms the urgent need for independent international forensic investigations,” the letter stated.
Decolonisation, not reconciliation
The organisations said the central political issue of the Tamil people’s right to self-determination has been consistently ignored by the UNHRC.
They urged the UN to treat the Eelam Tamil question as a matter for the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee on Special Political and Decolonisation, pointing out that the 1948 independence process in Ceylon constituted “improper and incomplete decolonisation”.
“When the British granted independence to the Sinhalese in 1948, they handed over power to the Sinhalese without seeking any mandate from the Tamils, carrying out an improper and incomplete decolonisation process that failed to uphold the principle of self-determination for the Tamil nation,” the letter said.
Drawing a parallel with the Mauritius case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the groups argued that the UN has both the authority and responsibility to correct this historical injustice.
Calls for tribunal and referendum
The letter laid out a four-point plan of action for UNHRC member states:
1. Support international forensic investigations into all suspected mass graves in the Tamil homeland.
2. Recommend the establishment of a Special Tribunal for Sri Lanka through the UN Security Council.
3. Refer the Tamil homeland to the UN Fourth Committee as a Non-Self-Governing Territory.
4. Recognise the right to self-determination of the Eelam Tamil people and facilitate a UN-monitored independence referendum.
The appeal comes ahead of the UNHRC’s next session in Geneva, where Sri Lanka’s ongoing rejection of Council resolutions and continued military occupation of the Tamil homeland are expected to come under scrutiny.
See the full text of the letter here.