Human Rights Advocacy

A key part of this work has been NCCT's engagement and attendance since 2012 at the United Nations Human Rights Council sessions held in Geneva. NCCT's engagement in Geneva includes hosting forums and side sessions with activists, elected officials and ambassadors; establishing and maintaining strong bilateral relationships with UN member state countries and sharing best practices with other global Tamil diaspora groups. Throughout these engagements, NCCT has advocated for the development and strengthening of resolutions by UN member state countries by participating in consultations and providing recommendations as it relates to the content and text within the resolution.

NCCT has access to special consultative status with the UN which enables us to work with the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, a body of the UN that works with governments in fulfilling human rights obligations and speaks out against human rights violations worldwide. In 2021, resolution 51/1 was passed at the UN general assembly which led to the development of the OHCHR's sub-team called the Sri Lanka Accountability Project.

The mandate for the Sri Lanka Accountability Project includes the collection, consolidation, preservation and analysis of information and evidence of violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes committed in Sri Lanka. Since the inception of this project, NCCT has been working directly with the accountability project team members in Geneva to facilitate the secure transmission of evidences as they relate to gender and sexual based violence, enforced disappearances, torture, child rights violations and unlawful killings.

NCCT also advocates with the core group countries assigned to Sri Lanka and the broader United Nations Human Rights Council to support judicial and other proceedings in Member States and develop strategies for accountability processes as it relates to the genocide committed against the Tamil people.