UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Sri Lanka – Expert Opinion / Resource Paper : TGTE

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is pleased to bring to your attention an Expert Opinion / Resource paper on the Sri Lanka Resolution submitted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

TGTE is a Tamil Diaspora entity formed through a democratic electoral process held in twelve countries. TGTE does not claim to be a government in exile and its constitution mandates that it realize its political goals only through peaceful means.

TGTE congratulated the UN High Commissioner, Honorable Zeid bin Ra’ad, for his thorough and comprehensive report and for his bold rejection of the proposal to set up a domestic mechanism to deal with international crimes committed in Sri Lanka.

We take note of the Resolution at the UNHRC entitled “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.”

We also take note that the Resolution: “further affirms in this regard the importance of participation in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, including the Special Counsel’s office, of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorized prosecutors and investigators”

Due to the inherently ethnocentric character of the Sri Lankan State, coupled with the persistent hostile environments prevalent in Sri Lanka with regards to witnesses, the TGTE’s position is that only through an international mechanism that justice can be meted out to the Tamil victims.

In fact, the same sentiment is shared by Tamils across the globe as demonstrated by the 1.4 million signatures subscribed to the “Million Signatures Campaign” launched by the TGTE calling for the referral of Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

However, in view of the UN High Commissioner’s recommendations calling for a hybrid mechanism, coupled with the fact that there is no fixed definition of hybrid tribunals, we at TGTE chose to obtain expert opinion on this matter.

We are pleased to submit the attached report prepared by the Global Diligence LLP as a resource material for your consideration.

Here is the Link: http://tgte-us.org/pressrelease/TGTE-GD-Resource%20Paper%20.pdf

Thank you,

Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran,
Prime Minister
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam

(TGTE)