Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Elaine Pearson called for renewed international efforts towards accountability and justice, whilst attending Mullivaikkal remembrance events in the Tamil homeland on Sunday.
Speaking to the Tamil Guardian from Mullivaikkal during the 17th anniversary commemorations of the genocide, Pearson said it was important for international human rights organisations to stand alongside Tamil victims and survivors.
“It's really important for Human Rights Watch to be here on this day to stand with the Tamil victims of these abuses to commemorate this moment,” she said.
“Obviously this is a very important place where many thousands of people were killed in the final stages of the war and there hasn't been any accountability 17 years later.”
Pearson noted that many Tamil families continue to search for answers regarding relatives who disappeared during the final stages of the armed conflict.
“Many families are still searching for loved ones, looking for answers, and hoping that one day the perpetrators who committed these crimes will be held to account,” she added.
Her remarks come as tens of thousands of Tamils across the North-East and the global diaspora marked Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, commemorating the mass atrocities committed against Tamils during the final months of the armed conflict in 2009.
Human rights organisations, UN experts and international investigators have repeatedly documented allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the final military offensive, including indiscriminate shelling of civilians, attacks on hospitals, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Pearson also criticised the failure of successive international initiatives to secure meaningful accountability.
“There's been many resolutions at the United Nations in Geneva calling for accountability, but resolutions are not enough,” she said.
“We need foreign governments to be pushing for a strong accountability mechanism that has international involvement.”
She further pointed to promises previously made by Sri Lanka’s current administration regarding accountability and reconciliation.
“And the current Sri Lankan government too has made pledges on accountability before they were elected,” she stated. “So it's really time to deliver on those pledges and ensure there is finally, 17 years later, some form of accountability.”
Discussing the continuing pain experienced by families of victims and the disappeared, Pearson said justice had been delayed for far too long.
“I think justice has been delayed for a very, very long time,” she said.
“Talking to families here, they are tired, they feel still want accountability, and they also want that to happen. So there is a assurance that these crimes do not happen be again.”
Pearson went on to stress that accountability could not continue to be sidelined. “I understand the government has a lot of different priorities, but it is something that the government has to prioritize in order to move forward from this very dark chapter of Sri Lanka’s history,” she said.
She concluded by emphasising the importance of truth, justice and reparations for victims and survivors.
“It's very important that there is truth and accountability and reparations also.”