Impunity Can End Only Through an International Accountability Mechanism; PEARL

10-Sep-2025

.

The People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) has told the UNHRC that only through an international accountability mechanism can Sri Lanka end the long-standing culture of impunity.

The 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council commenced in Geneva on September 9. During the opening session, UN High Commissioner Volker Türk submitted his written report on Sri Lanka, followed by a debate.

Speaking during the debate on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation, PEARL’s representative stated: “The Chemmani mass grave reminds us that even 16 years after the end of the war, justice and accountability for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed against Tamils remain unachieved.”

He further noted that the fate of over 169,796 Tamils remains unknown, with many presumed dead. He emphasized that only an international accountability mechanism can end Sri Lanka’s entrenched culture of impunity.

He added: “Although the current government has pledged to act on economic crimes, there has been no meaningful progress on accountability for grave crimes against humanity. The Prevention of Terrorism Act remains in force, while repression of freedom of expression continues. Human rights defenders and journalists are under constant surveillance and harassment. In the North and East, militarization and Sinhalization persist. Like past governments, the current one uses the rhetoric of reconciliation without taking substantive measures to achieve it.”

In this context, he urged the international community to exercise universal jurisdiction and to pursue legal accountability through the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. He concluded that unless justice, accountability, and the right to self-determination for Tamils are secured, Sri Lanka’s crisis cannot be resolved.