Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Pressure Sri Lanka on human rights: activists

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Sep, 2020 10:47 PM
  • Pressure Sri Lanka on human rights: activists

A group of Tamil Canadians is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for legal changes to remove sovereign immunity as a defence for international crimes.

Such a move would enable Sri Lankan families to seek justice for their disappeared loved ones, said Kumanan Kunaratnam, a Tamil activist in Ottawa, in a Parliament Hill news conference Monday.

A civil war gripped the country between 1983 and 2009, with insurgents who sought a separate Tamil state battling a central government dominated by Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese.

Amnesty International estimates at least 60,000 people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s, with the activists saying most of the victims are Tamil. Last year the United Nations noted that thousands of people in Sri Lanka don't know what happened to missing loved ones.

"This is an issue that must deeply concern all human beings," Kunaratnam said.

The legal doctrine of sovereign immunity largely protects governments from court actions in other countries. There are exceptions, however, such as when a state engages in commercial activities.

Kunaratnam said sovereign immunity should be removed. "If sovereign immunity can be removed as a defence for a commercial transaction, why cannot it be removed for international crimes?"

He said that such legislation will not only benefit Tamils but also victims of enforced disappearances across the globe.

Hundreds of thousands of people have vanished during conflicts or periods of repression in at least 85 countries around the world, according the United Nations.

A group of four Tamil Canadians finished a 16-day "walk for justice" from Brampton, Ont., to Parliament Hill in Ottawa to raise awareness about the human rights violations in Sri Lanka. Another group of three activists walked from Montreal to Ottawa.

The group also wants Canada to refer Sri Lanka to the committee established under the United Nations convention against enforced disappearance.

Although Sri Lanka ratified the UN's convention against enforced disappearances in 2016, it invoked a provision of the international treaty that prevents victims from petitioning the committee over a country's violations of the convention. Only another country can make such a complaint against Sri Lanka.

Canada, however, has not signed on to the convention at all, limiting its standing to make such a complaint.

MORE National ARTICLES

Starbucks requires all customers to wear masks as of Sept 14th at all café locations in Canada.

Starbucks requires all customers to wear masks as of Sept 14th at all café locations in Canada.
At select locations where a local government mandate is not in place, customers that may not be wearing a facial covering will have various options to order their Starbucks.

Starbucks requires all customers to wear masks as of Sept 14th at all café locations in Canada.

Man from Surrey arrested after allegedly committing indecent acts in Langley

Man from Surrey arrested after allegedly committing indecent acts in Langley
The male is alleged to have made sexualized remarks and subsequently exposed himself.

Man from Surrey arrested after allegedly committing indecent acts in Langley

B.C. announces shoreline cleanup fund

B.C. announces shoreline cleanup fund
The British Columbia government has announced a fund to clean up the shoreline of the central coast in a bid to create jobs as communities try to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

B.C. announces shoreline cleanup fund

Burnaby RCMP respond to a report of a fight involving a firearm

Burnaby RCMP respond to a report of a fight involving a firearm
Police called for any remaining people in the residence to exit. One man and one woman exited the residence and were also taken into custody.

Burnaby RCMP respond to a report of a fight involving a firearm

Vancouver Police seek witnesses and dashcam video after pedestrian struck by car

Vancouver Police seek witnesses and dashcam video after pedestrian struck by car
On Saturday August 29 just before 2 p.m. a vehicle was driving west on West 41st Avenue when it struck the elderly female in the marked crosswalk at Elm Street.

Vancouver Police seek witnesses and dashcam video after pedestrian struck by car

Chilliwack RCMP investigate fatal two-vehicle collision

Chilliwack RCMP investigate fatal two-vehicle collision
Frontline officers quickly arrived to the scene where police located the operator of the motorcycle – a 28-year-old man from Abbotsford- who had succumbed to his injuries.

Chilliwack RCMP investigate fatal two-vehicle collision