Accountability issues: Gajendrakumar’s party irked by Geneva Core Group’s failure

Jaffna-based Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) has reiterated its demand for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The TNPF raised the issue in a letter addressed to the Heads of Missions in Geneva of the UNHRC Core Group on Sri Lanka.

The TNPF criticised previous UN HRC resolutions as ineffective, stating that they have failed to deliver justice for Tamil victims.

The letter, signed by TNPF President Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam MP, and General Secretary S. Kajendren, rejected the Core Group’s response to Sri Lanka’s proposal for domestic mechanisms. The TNPF warned that the current administration, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has made it clear that it would not prosecute perpetrators of war crimes.

The TNPF outlined how the NPP government has categorically dismissed international accountability mechanisms, echoing the policies of its predecessors. The letter highlighted that since at least 27 August 2024, President Dissanayake has repeatedly assured the Sinhala electorate that “no one will be punished for IHL (International Humanitarian Law) or Human Rights law violations that took place during the war.”

Instead, the government has insisted on so-called “truth-seeking” mechanisms, which, the TNPF states, are designed to avoid prosecution rather than ensure accountability. The letter warned that any domestic initiative under the current administration will not hold perpetrators accountable—a strategy that has been used repeatedly to delay and deny justice to Tamil victims.

“This context makes it abundantly clear that the present government, like its predecessors, will never willingly prosecute perpetrators,” the TNPF wrote, reaffirming that Tamil demands for justice and non-recurrence remain unmet.

The TNPF also rebuked the UNHRC Core Group’s continued failure to push for meaningful action against Sri Lanka. The letter stressed that the approach taken in previous resolutions—which focus on engagement and domestic mechanisms—has only allowed Sri Lanka to buy time and avoid accountability.

The Core Group, which includes Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom, has once again welcomed superficial measures taken by Sri Lanka, including so-called “initial steps” such as returning small plots of land, lifting roadblocks, and allowing memorialisation. However, these actions come as tens of thousands of Sri Lankan troops continue to occupy Tamil land, engaging in surveillance, intimidation, and the suppression of Tamil civil society.

The TNPF made it clear that a new resolution in line with past ones cannot be sustained in the name of accountability. Instead, they demanded a radical shift in the UNHRC’s approach:

“A new resolution consistent with the matters pointed out in this letter and specifically, a referral of the situation in Sri Lanka to the ICC, and other international fora, is fundamental if the resolution is to have the consent of the Tamil victims.”

This demand reflects the growing frustration among Tamil political leaders, civil society, and victims’ families over the continued failure of the international community to deliver justice more than 15 years after the Mullivaikkal genocide, the TNPF said.