U.N. Human Rights Council condemns Sri Lanka for crimes against Tamils

March 23 (UPI) -- A divided United Nations Human Rights Council voted Tuesday in favor of a resolution condemning Sri Lanka for war crimes against the minority Tamil population.

Twenty-two HRC members voted for the resolution, 11 voted against and 14 abstained.

The Tamil population has a long and bloody history with the Sri Lanka government, most notably during a civil war that lasted between 1983 and 2009.

India, a Sri Lankan ally and one of its closest neighbors, was one of the nations that did not vote. In a statement beforehand, the government said they support "equality, justice, dignity and peace" for the Tamil population.

"We have always believed these two goals are mutually supportive and Sri Lanka's progress is best assured by simultaneously addressing both objectives," the statement read.

Amnesty International said the resolution allows the U.N. human rights office to collect and preserve evidence for future cases against Sri Lanka for its treatment of the Tamils.

"This is a significant move by the Human Rights Council, which signals a shift in approach by the international community," Hilary Power, Amnesty International representative to the United Nations, said in a statement.

"Years of support and encouragement to Sri Lanka to pursue justice at the national level achieved nothing. This resolution should send a clear message to perpetrators of past and current crimes that they cannot continue to act with impunity."

Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, tweeted that the vote is a "major victory for the people of Sri Lanka."

"The U.N. Human Rights Council ... recognizes the utter lack of accountability for war crimes in Sri Lanka," he said.