OUR WORK

Our work is approached through the lenses of research, advocacy, and knowledge mobilization.

About Us-Our Approach Image

Our Approach

Research

PEARL's research and analysis is focused on issues affecting the Tamil community in the North-East of Sri Lanka. We have conducted extensive field research on issues such as accountability, militarization, impunity, memorialization and transitional justice.

Advocacy

PEARL's advocacy includes consistent and thorough engagement with the international community. This includes the United Nations in New York and Geneva, U.S., Canada, European Union, and other governments. PEARL provides policymakers with information, data, and analysis in order to aid formulation of policies and practices regarding Sri Lanka. Our team has presented PEARL's work at the U.S. Congress and at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva

Knowledge Mobilization

We mobilize communities across the globe to fight injustice and raise awareness about the situation in Sri Lanka.

Key Issues

Accountability

PEARL is dedicated to achieving accountability for the atrocity crimes, including the genocide, committed against Tamils during the entirety of the conflict in Sri Lanka. However, there is no political will within the Sinhala polity to bring perpetrators to justice and the domestic judiciary is not equipped to deal with atrocity crimes. Our report on the Kumarapuram massacre details the structural limitations on the domestic judiciary's ability to prosecute atrocity crimes. Sri Lanka's backtracking on its commitments at the UN Human Rights Council in 2015 to establish a hybrid court further indicates that the country will not provide accountability and justice to Tamils victim-survivors. Our report analyzes this further. The continuing culture of impunity, particularly for Sri Lankan military officials and politicians, remains a major obstacle to resolving the ongoing conflict and preventing the recurrence of gross human rights violations. Accountability is a necessary precursor to true reconciliation and sustainable peace.

Militarization

The Tamil homeland is one of the most heavily-militarized regions in the world. Sri Lanka has one of the largest militaries in the world relative to population, with the vast majority concentrated in the North-East of the island.

Memorialization

PEARL fully supports the right of the Tamil people to memorialize their dead. We conducted research across the North-East to explore how the Tamil people want to commemorate their losses, as well as the Sri Lankan government's obstruction of these memorialization efforts. Our report reflects our findings. The history of the Tamil struggle for liberation needs to be preserved, alongside the history of atrocities suffered by the Tamil nation, and this information must be accessible to all. We are currently working with the Archive on the Legacy of Conflict in South Asia to archive material related to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Events and Capacity Building

PEARL-ourwork-readinggroups

Reading Groups

PEARL hosted a series of reading groups for Tamil youth and young professionals in Toronto. The reading groups are aimed at helping Tamil activists explore their Tamil identity, history, and politics through discussion of key readings, in a safe space that acknowledges intersecting structures such as gender and caste. The aim of the reading groups is to develop the critical analysis and leadership capabilities of young Tamil activists.

PEARL-ourwork-workshops

Workshops

PEARL often participates in and helps coordinate conferences on the Tamil polity, including the key human rights concerns in the North-East. Our contributions include panel presentations, keynotes, and other support work. In addition, we often host independent public workshops and discussions on key issues.

PEARL-ourwork-conferences

Conferences and Panels

PEARL often participates in and helps coordinate conferences on the Tamil polity, including the key human rights concerns in the North-East. Our contributions include panel presentations, keynotes, and other support work. In addition, we often host independent public workshops and discussions on key issues.

Stay Informed

Recieve weekly newsletters, press releases, and other updates from our PEARL team. You will also recieve weekly updates with the latest on the human rights situation for Tamil people in the North-East of Sri Lanka.