441-00583 Foreign affairs
Petition to the House of Commons
WHEREAS:
The Tamil Rights Group (TRG) is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Markham, Canada, and has submitted a Communication under Article 15 of the Rome Statute to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting a preliminary examination into crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution committed against Eelam Tamils within the territories of state parties to the ICC, including on the basis of the precedent set by Pre-Trial Chamber's decision in the Myanmar/Bangladesh case;
There is mounting evidence that the Eelam Tamil population in Sri Lanka was subject to atrocities that amounted to crimes against humanity and war crimes, particularly in the final stages of the protracted civil war that ended in 2009. Canada's Parliament has recently unanimously adopted a motion to make May 18 of each year Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day considering such evidence.
Recognising that the ongoing actions of the Sri Lankan state have proven its unwillingness to investigate and prosecute such crimes within domestic judicial institutions, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in January 2021, called for member states to become involved in working to end the impunity surrounding the Sri Lankan armed conflict, both by utilising the principle of universal jurisdiction to initiate prosecutions in foreign domestic courts, and by taking steps toward seeking justice at the international level, including at the ICC.
We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
As a State Party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and relying on the evidence and legal argumentation contained in TRG's Article 15 Communication, refer the Situation to the ICC so that, among other things, the Prosecutor can initiate an investigation without the need to seek authorization from a pre-trial chamber.
WHEREAS:
The Tamil Rights Group (TRG) is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Markham, Canada, and has submitted a Communication under Article 15 of the Rome Statute to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting a preliminary examination into crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution committed against Eelam Tamils within the territories of state parties to the ICC, including on the basis of the precedent set by Pre-Trial Chamber's decision in the Myanmar/Bangladesh case;
There is mounting evidence that the Eelam Tamil population in Sri Lanka was subject to atrocities that amounted to crimes against humanity and war crimes, particularly in the final stages of the protracted civil war that ended in 2009. Canada's Parliament has recently unanimously adopted a motion to make May 18 of each year Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day considering such evidence.
Recognising that the ongoing actions of the Sri Lankan state have proven its unwillingness to investigate and prosecute such crimes within domestic judicial institutions, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in January 2021, called for member states to become involved in working to end the impunity surrounding the Sri Lankan armed conflict, both by utilising the principle of universal jurisdiction to initiate prosecutions in foreign domestic courts, and by taking steps toward seeking justice at the international level, including at the ICC.
We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
As a State Party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and relying on the evidence and legal argumentation contained in TRG's Article 15 Communication, refer the Situation to the ICC so that, among other things, the Prosecutor can initiate an investigation without the need to seek authorization from a pre-trial chamber.