The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) hosted the annual International Human Rights Day event in London, UK, on 10 December 2023. The event, attended by renowned journalists, human rights activists, professionals and politicians, shed light on the role the international human rights system has played both in the past and continuing human rights abuses faced by the Tamil population in the North-East and in the diaspora.
At the start of the event, a brief documentary of TIC and its mission in documenting human rights violations against Tamils was presented to the audience.
The event's Guest of Honour was Councillor and Mayor of Barnet, Nagus Narenthira, was awarded for her long-standing advocacy for the rights of the Tamil community. Below is a clip of the speech delivered by Narenthira:
As TIC's special guest, Rt. Hon. Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils was also recognised for her advocacy and dedication to protecting the rights of Tamils against past and current state violence. Below is a clip of the speech delivered by Villiers:
Dr Andy Higginbottom, retired Professor of International Politics, Human Rights and Social Justice at Kingston University, was also awarded for his dedication to advocating for the protection of the international protection of human rights for the Tamils. He offered an informative speech on the key accomplishments of human rights and accountability mechanisms, namely the findings of the Dublin Tribunal in January 2010 and the Bremen Tribunal in December 2012, which held that the Government of Sri Lanka had committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He also explained the complicity and geopolitical interests of the UK and the US in the genocide and ongoing rights abuses of the Tamils.
Andy Bailey, Director of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Genocide Prevention, was also recognised for his commitment to the protection of Tamils' human rights. Below is a section of his speech delivered during the event:
Two journalists were recognised for their outstanding work in exposing rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan state and advocating for social justice and accountability. Frances Harrison, former BBC journalist and director of the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), and Bashana Abeyawardane from Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka were awarded TIC's Human Rights Award 2023. Harrison spoke on the importance of collecting and preserving evidences of rights violations for the purpose of future accountability processes and congratulated TIC's work for their initiative and mission in the preservation of such documents.
Another significant honour, the Varakumar Memorial Award 2023, was presented to Dr Siva Thiagarajah, an author and academic researcher specialising in human genetics, archaeology, and history. Dr. Thiagarajah's tireless efforts to preserve the history of Eelam Tamils, a key mission of the late founder of TIC, Vairamuttu Varadakumar, was commended at the occasion.
At the event, rising rapper/singer, SP Alan, performed a rap song that he dedicated to Human Rights Day. The song shed light on the past massacres and rights abuses perpetrated by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamils and drew parallels between the present situation of Palestinians in Gaza to the Mullivaikkal massacres in May 2009.
The occasion concluded with a moving performance by the Meiveli Drama School. The act focused on the failings of human rights mechanisms, namely the United Nations, in protecting the rights and lives of Tamils, particularly Tamil children, in the North-East against state perpetrated violence and mass killings throughout the 26-year armed struggle between the Sri Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
While the event celebrated the individual contributions to the protection of Tamils' human rights, and acknowledged the progress made since the end of the Mullivaikkal massacres in 2009, it served as a reminder that international human rights and accountability mechanisms need to be reinforced to hold past perpetrators of international crimes and rights abuses accountable. In particular, the continued abuse and violence against Tamils, including the widespread torture under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by the Sri Lankan government, was condemned by the speakers.
