Posts Categorized: Human Rights

ICJ: Justice & Accountability for Crimes under International Law in Sri Lanka

by International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, February 28, 2020 At the UN Human Rights Council, the ICJ today urged renewed international action to ensure justice and accountability for crimes under international law in Sri Lanka. The statement, delivered during a discussion of updates and reports from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, read as follows:… Read more »

From Being Tortured in Sri Lanka to the U.S. Supreme Court

by Ashoka Mukpo, American Civil Liberties Union, February 24, 2020 On a frigid day in early February, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam stands under an awning on a street corner in lower Manhattan along with one of his attorneys, Celso Perez of the ACLU. Both are bundled in heavy winter jackets. Perez is holding his phone up and… Read more »

Joint Statement by the Core Group on Sri Lanka

by Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Montenegro & UK, Geneva, February 27, 2020 http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/watch/item2-general-debate-contd-11th-meeting-43rd-regular-session-human-rights-council/6136566318001 https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/un-human-rights-council-43-item-2-joint-statement-by-the-core-group-on-sri-lanka UN Human Rights Council 43: Item 2 Joint Statement by the Core Group on Sri Lanka International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French delivers joint statement by the Core Group on Sri Lanka Thank you Madam President This statement is on… Read more »

UNHCHR: Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka

by Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, February 18, 2020 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session43/Pages/ListReports.aspx Oral updates and introduction to country reports of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner UN Human Rights Council, February 27, 2020 http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/watch/hcsg-country-reports-10th-meeting-43rd-regular-session-human-rights-council-/6136487778001 I move to our update on Sri Lanka, HRC/43/19, assessing the progress made in implementing Human Rights Council resolution… Read more »

SLC: Keep the Promise

by Sri Lanka Campaign, London, February, 2020 The promise Following a landmark international investigation, in September 2015 the United Nations released a major report on serious human rights violations committed during the final stages of the civil war and the surrounding period (2002-2011). The document, known as the ‘OISL Report’[1] was clear in its view that many… Read more »

AI: Fulfil the Demands of the Families of the Disappeared

by Amnesty International, February 14, 2020 In Sri Lanka, many families of the forcibly disappeared mark 14 February as ‘Missing Lovers Day’ in remembrance of their loved ones and to demand truth and justice The Sri Lankan government must deliver justice, truth and reparation to the families of the forcibly disappeared, Amnesty International said today,… Read more »

More Skeletal Remains Discovered in Sri Lanka’s Former War Zone

by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, Europe, February 12, 2020 A judge has ordered methodical excavations of a site in Sri Lanka’s former war zone after construction workers discovered skeletal remains considered as belonging to humans. The bones were unearthed from the Mankulam hospital site in the Mullaitivu district when land clearance was done… Read more »

PEARL welcomes US sanctions against Sri Lankan army chief

by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, Washington, D.C., February 14, 2020 Today, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo banned Sri Lanka’s army chief Shavendra Silva from entering the US due to “credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of… Read more »

U.S. Bars Sri Lankan Army Chief Accused of War Crimes

The sanctions are the first international action against Sri Lanka stemming from its brutal civil war. Several members of the new government are also accused of wartime abuses. by Maria Abi-Habib and Dharisha Bastians, The New York Times, February 15, 2020 NEW DELHI — The United States has imposed an entry bar on Sri Lanka’s army chief,… Read more »

Public Designation, Due to Gross Violations of Human Rights, of Shavendra Silva

of Sri Lanka Under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act by Michael R. Pompeo, US Secretary of State, Washington, DC, February 14, 2020 Press Statement https://www.state.gov/public-designation-due-to-gross-violations-of-human-rights-of-shavendra-silva-of-sri-lanka-under-section-7031c-of-the-department-of-state-foreign-operations-and-related-programs-appropriations-a/ The Department of State has designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Acting Chief of… Read more »

High Time UNHRC acts Decisively and Effectively on Sri Lanka

by Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 8, 2020 In the UN Human Rights Council’s March 2020 Sessions, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be presenting an update on Sri Lanka’s progress on Sri Lanka’s progress in implementing its 30-01-2015 Resolution which had more than… Read more »

Amnesty 2019 Report on Sri Lanka

by Amnesty International, London, January 29, 2020 Index number: ASA 01/1354/2020 https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa01/1354/2020/en/ ASA0113542020ENGLISH Sri Lanka

HRW 2019 Report on Sri Lanka

by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 2020 https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/sri-lanka On April 21, Easter Sunday, Islamist suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels in Colombo and two other cities, killing over 250 women, men, and children and injuring hundreds more. For the following four months, the government imposed a state of emergency. Hundreds were detained without charge under the… Read more »

HRW: Repeal Abusive Counterterrorism Law

Uphold Pledges to United Nations, European Union by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 10, 2020 (New York) – The Sri Lankan government should abide by its commitments to replace the abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with legislation that respects its international human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said today. The cabinet of President Gotabaya… Read more »

Question of Genocide in Sri Lanka

Justifying a Referral to International Court of Justice by Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 27, 2020 The International Court of Justice [ICJ] is the principal organ of the United Nations and was established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations. This Court is located… Read more »

Atrocity and Proto-Genocide in Sri Lanka

by Christopher Powell and Amarnath Amarasingam,  article in ‘Understanding Atrocities: Remembering, Representing, and Teaching Genocide’ eidted by Scott W. Murray, February 2017 Introduction This paper discusses the concept of “proto-genocide.” This concept adds clarity to studies of cultural genocide by helping to distinguish between situations where a collective identity is under violent attack and situations… Read more »

PEARL Applauds World Court Decision Order to Prevent Rohingya Genocide

by People for Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka (PEARL) (Washington, D.C., January 23, 2020) Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered  Myanmar to enact measures to halt the ongoing genocide against the Rohingya in a case filed by The Gambia pursuant to the Genocide Convention. PEARL welcomes this legally binding ruling, which is… Read more »

What Lessons Are We Talking About?

Reconciliation and Memory in Post-Civil War Sri Lankan Cinema by Dinidu Karunanayake and Thiyagaraja Waradas, ICES Research Papers, Colombo, September 2013 What_Lessons_Are_We_Talking_About_Reconc The official end of the war coincides with the beginning of a markedly changed Sri Lankan cinematic aesthetic. The post-2009 period has seen a boom in ‘patriotic‘ film productions. Shedding light on Jean-Luc… Read more »