Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader and Member of Parliament Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has sharply criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), calling it a “redundant forum” that has kept the Tamil people’s quest for justice stagnant for over a decade.
Speaking at an event held on Monday at the Yaar Thandhai Selva Kalaiarangam, Ponnambalam said the UNHRC has failed to deliver justice for the war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity committed against the Tamil people during the final phase of the civil war in 2009.
He noted that the accountability process for Tamils within the UNHRC has been “kept idle for more than ten years,” and accused Western powers and India of using the Council as a political tool rather than a means of justice.
“The accountability issue was first raised in 2012 during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration. When the government changed in 2015, the so-called ‘Good Governance’ regime secured two years’ grace under the pretext of reforms, yet nothing substantial was achieved,” Ponnambalam said.
He further revealed that during the final stages of the war in May 2009, TNA leader R. Sampanthan instructed him to inform the ambassadors of India, the United States, and the United Kingdom about the ground situation — a fact later verified through U.S. State Department cables published by WikiLeaks.
Describing himself as a student of international politics, Ponnambalam said the UNHRC has become “an unnecessary platform that distorts the Tamil accountability issue.”
He emphasized that the affected Tamil community continues to demand justice through international courts rather than through prolonged and ineffective UNHRC mechanisms.
Concluding his speech, Ponnambalam expressed readiness to join hands with individuals and groups working beyond party lines to pursue justice for Tamil victims through international legal avenues.
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