petitions srilanka

Demand justice for war survivors and an independent war crimes investigation

Demand justice for war survivors and an independent war crimes investigation

Since the war ended one year ago the humanitarian and human rights situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated significantly. Inhumane camps for civilians still exist and in other parts of the country, journalists and human rights defenders are intimidated, abducted and tortured.

Credible allegations of war crimes are mounting and now its time the United Nations stood up to the Sri Lankan Regime.

Please sign the petition and urge the UN to launch an independent inquiry as recommended by groups including Amnesty, International Crisis Group and the Elders.

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(If you would prefer to send your own message, you are free to edit this)


Dear Secretary-General,

It has been a year since the war in Sri Lanka came to end but the survivors - 300,000 Tamil men, women and children - continue to suffer at the hands of an authoritarian and brutal regime. 80,000 civilians remain captive inside camps run by the Sri Lankan Army and new evidence of physical abuse has started to emerge. Severe violations of human rights continue to be unmonitored, because independent observers and aid workers are denied unrestricted access to the camps. Even basic medical care is limited. Despite the many promises made over the past year to the Sri Lankan public and the international community, President Rajapaksa and his government have done little to bring about justice or reconciliation. The north remains under military control and outsiders have very little access. The south remains dangerous for media workers and human rights defenders who speak out against the state sanctioned atrocities. Many are forced to flee the country after suffering torture and other forms of intimidation. Credible allegations of war crimes have continued since the shocking footage of civilian executions was released last August. More recently, Channel 4 News uncovered chilling evidence of point-blank executions of Tamils at the end of the war, carried out by uniformed Sri Lankan soldiers under orders from the top. Calls for an independent investigation into these alleged war crimes have come from Amnesty International and the International Crisis Group. Sri Lanka suffers from a culture of impunity - each of the commissions of inquiry performed in the past 20 years has been a failure. As Secretary-General, you have the power to set up an independent international inquiry. We urge you to ensure these allegations are thoroughly investigated and that the perpetrators of torture and war crimes are brought to justice. As you have said yourself: there can be no sustainable peace without justice. Peace and justice, accountability and reconciliation are not mutually exclusive.

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