Canadian parliamentarians have called for international accountability over the discovery of mass graves in Chemmani, northern Sri Lanka, urging Canada to support independent oversight of investigations and pursue further legal measures against those responsible for human rights violations.
The call was made at an event titled ‘Chemmani: From Mass Graves to Accountability’, held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on 20 October. The event was co-organised by Members of Parliament Gary Anandasangaree and Juanita Nathan and attended by parliamentarians from different political parties, Tamil advocacy and community organisations, and student activists.
Opening the event, Anandasangaree said the discoveries in Chemmani demanded international attention, justice and accountability. He accused Sri Lanka of evading the rule of law and accountability for those responsible for serious international human rights violations, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Anandasangaree said Canada remained committed to pursuing accountability, including through its membership of the Sri Lanka Core Group at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Canada recognised the Tamil genocide in 2022 and imposed sanctions on former Sri Lankan presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2023 over human rights violations.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr Mario Arulthas, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The North-Eastern and a post-doctoral research associate at SOAS University of London. He described Chemmani as a “symbol of genocide and an unaddressed scene of state violence”, arguing that the discoveries required scrutiny beyond Sri Lanka’s domestic investigative processes.
“Mass graves are not accidental remnants of war. They are manifestations of a state’s intent,” Arulthas said.
He argued that Sri Lanka lacked both the expertise and political will to ensure accountability and called on Canada to support international oversight of the excavation process, with independent protocols governing the work. He also cautioned against relying exclusively on domestic initiatives, warning that withdrawing from international justice mechanisms could weaken wider efforts to enforce international law.
“It signals to authoritarian regimes globally that if they simply wait, commitment to international law will eventually collapse into quiet accommodation,” he said.
Arulthas urged Canada to expand its efforts through additional legal mechanisms, including invoking the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, exercising universal jurisdiction and investigating individuals accused of involvement in the violations.
In her closing remarks, Nathan said justice for victims of mass atrocities was a value upheld by Canada’s Parliament. She highlighted the prolonged uncertainty faced by families of people who disappeared in Sri Lanka, including those who went missing from the 1990s through to the end of the war.
“The families and friends of those who disappeared from as early as the 1990s through to the end of the war are justified in warranting answers. They had waited decades. They deserve to know what happened to their loved ones, and they deserve a response from those with the power to give it to them,” she said.
MP Salma Zahid also attended the event and highlighted the continuing discoveries of human remains at Chemmani. In a post on X, she called for a credible international investigation, the preservation of evidence and answers for families of the disappeared, describing these measures as urgently necessary in response to the findings at the site.
