Open Letter Calls for International Judicial Process for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Sri Lanka
Monday, September 14, 2015
An open letter from a group of eminent international citizens to member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council to ensure justice, truth, and peace for all in Sri Lanka.
Dear colleagues at the Human Rights Council,
In 2009, the international community failed to prevent the terrible systematic massacres, war crimes, rapes, and executions that marked the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war. Tens of thousands of civilians died as a result – most killed by government forces, although the Tamil Tigers too killed civilians. By its failure to prevent these crimes, the international community failed to uphold fundamental principle of the UN: when a state manifestly fails to protect its own people against crimes such as these, the international community has a responsibility to protect the population.