‘Political solution, accountability & justice for all’ - US Ambassador speaks with TNA

08 March 2022

Amidst the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, met with Tamil National Alliance representatives (TNA) R Sampanthan and MA Sumanthiran to discuss “the need for a political solution, accountability & justice for all Sri Lankans”.

Her meeting follows a scathing report by the UN High Commissioner for human rights which slammed Sri Lanka for its failure to produce accountability and increasing militarisation. Her report called for sanctions on senior Sri Lankan officials implicated in war crimes and to pursue alternative avenues for international accountability.

Chung’s meeting also comes as Tamil women-led protests across Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Colombo demanding an answer to the thousands of Tamil victims forcibly disappeared. Tamil families have been protesting on the roadsides of the North-East for more than 5 years, demanding justice for their disappeared relatives.

At the UN Human Rights Council, the United States called “on the government to cease its harassment of civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists” and bring the PTA “into alignment with international human rights law”.

Read more here: Russia and Belarus rush to Sri Lanka’s defence at UN Human Rights Council

Chung further stated she was “Looking forward to more conversations on #democratic governance, #humanrights & inclusive economic growth for all of Sri Lanka’s diverse communities”.