By Canadian Press

Activists urge Trudeau government to act on disappearances in Sri Lanka

Sep 14, 2020 | 3:31 PM

OTTAWA — A group of Tamil Canadians is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to bring in a parliamentary motion that would remove sovereign immunity as a defence for international crimes.

Amnesty International estimates at least 60,000 people to have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s, with the activists saying most of the victims are Tamil.

The group wants Canada to refer Sri Lanka to the committee established under a United Nations convention aimed at protecting people against enforced disappearance.

Both Canada and Sri Lanka have signed the convention.

The activists are accusing the Sri Lankan government of committing human rights violations and want the Liberal government to do more about it.

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Canada is home to one of the largest Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora population in the world.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2020.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press