June 25, 2025 – Mullaitivu, Tamileelam.
A senior official from the United Nations on a special fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka’s Northern Province met with the families of forcibly disappeared persons in Mullaitivu today. The meeting was held at a local community centre and was attended by dozens of mothers, wives, and children who have been searching for their loved ones for more than a decade.
The families, many of whom are members of the Association for the Relatives of the Enforced Disappeared, emotionally recounted their experiences, holding photographs and legal documents in their hands. They demanded international justice, accountability for war-time crimes, and truth about the fate of their missing relatives, many of whom were last seen after surrendering to the Sri Lankan military in May 2009.
The UN official listened carefully and took detailed notes, promising that their voices would be included in the upcoming human rights report to the UN Human Rights Council.
“We have waited too long. We have cried too long. We want answers. We want justice,” said a mother whose son disappeared after surrendering during the final days of the war.
The official also paid a visit to a mass grave site nearby, where human remains continue to be unearthed in recent years, raising fears of concealed war crimes.
Tamil civil society activists welcomed the visit but expressed concern that past UN engagements had not resulted in tangible action or international prosecutions. They urged the international community to impose targeted sanctions on those credibly accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
– Eelaththu Nilavan.
