Online meetings with top officials of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva was held with five Tamil Party leaders on yesterday (01).
Following the letter sent to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 25 February 2022 by the five Tamil Parties, it is considered significant that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ office holds a meeting with the Tamil leaders.
The meeting took place at a time when the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ written report on Resolution 46/1 on Sri Lanka is due to be tabled on tomorrow (3).
This is considered as an important meeting with top UN officials on behalf of the Sri Lankan Tamil people during a delegation led by the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris to the UN.
It was coordinated by the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation, the discussion was attended by member of parliamentarians Mr. Vigneswaran, Selvam Adikalanath, Siddharthan and EPRLF leader Suresh Premachandran, and a spokesman for the TELO, K. Surendran. Mr Srikantha was unable to attend the funeral due to sick.
This constructive meeting discussion lasted for almost an hour and 15 minutes. The discussion included war crimes, the justice system for human rights abuses, the prolongation of impunity, land grabbing, deportation, planned settlements, accountability and reconciliation, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Representatives of the Tamil Party briefed UN officials on the release of political prisoners and those wanted by the state, missing persons, justice for those families, the activities of the missing persons’ office, and the gathering of evidence.
It was also pointed out that many of the issues mentioned in the letter signed and sent by the five Tamil parties last September 2020 have now been incorporated into the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.