by Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, July 23, 2018 http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/39/45/Add.2 [Statement at end of Working Group visit] VI. Conclusions 73. The Working Group appreciates the willingness of the Government to submit itself to scrutiny through the visit, and considers that the findings in the present report offer an opportunity to support the Government in addressing… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
Behind the Skeletal Excavations in Mannar
Grave secrets by Indunil Usgoda Arachchi & Vimukthi Fernando, ‘The Sunday Observer,’ Colombo, August 19, 2018 Sunday Observer journalists visit a grave excavation in Mannar, where forensic investigators are hard at work, painstakingly unearthing human skeleton after skeleton, determined that this time, the investigation into the suspected mass grave site will not be compromised- politically… Read more »
What Do ‘Human Rights’ Mean for Politicians in the South…?
By S. V. KIRUPAharan, France, ‘LankaENews,’ August 21, 2018 (Lanka e News – 20.Aug.2018, 5.45AM) ‘Human rights’ may be a new phenomenon for many Sinhala Buddhists – SB and for some Tamils including a few members of the diaspora. I have seen many participants in UN human rights forums in Geneva without any basic knowledge… Read more »
UN SR Ben Emmerson’s Report on Sri Lanka
by UN Special Rapporteur Ben Emmerson, July 24, 2018 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism on his mission to Sri Lanka Sri_LankaReportJuly2018.PDF A. Conclusions 59. In 2015, Sri Lanka seemed to have turned a corner. New elections brought to power a coalition government and with it the… Read more »
Tackling Sri Lanka’s ‘Torturers’
From Point Pedro to Dondra Head by [no author noted], ‘The Sunday Times,’ Colombo, July 29, 2018 There is little doubt that the findings of United Nations Special Rapportuer on Countering Terrorism, Ben Emmerson on the sorry fate of Sri Lanka’s justice system, particularly in regard to the continuance of a ‘culture of impunity’ are… Read more »
Protecting or Facilitating?
A review of the humanitarian response to IDP detention in Sri Lanka, 2009 All too often however, humanitarian organisations were poorly equipped with the time, skills and attitudes to address a situation where the state was not representing the interests of the population. In these cases, supporting the vulnerable means contesting state agendas, even where… Read more »
“In 1983, As Our Ship Left Colombo Port, I Saw Pettah Burning”
by Dimuthu Attanayake, ‘The Sunday Observer,’ Colombo, July 22, 2018 TNA Legislator M.A. Sumanthiran, recalls being 19 years old when communal violence rocked the capital city in July 1983. Packed off to Jaffna where the Government thought Tamil families residing in Colombo and other parts of the south would be safer, he recalls an arduous… Read more »
Sri Lanka Military Caught Red Handed While Misleading Public Inquiry
by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, July 18, 2018 Military authorities in Sri Lanka have been providing incorrect information about sexual abuse by its soldiers and officers while on a UN peacekeeping mission. A joint press release issued on Tuesday (17) by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) has… Read more »
Sri Lankan ‘War Criminals’ Deployed as UN Peacekeepers
by Mark Townsend, ‘The Guardian,’ Manchester, July 21, 2018 The UN has been sending alleged war criminals to act as peacekeepers in conflict zones, a confidential report claims. The document, seen by the Observer, and sent to the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations last month, claims that senior Sri Lankan officers accused of war crimes have… Read more »
The Office for Reparations
An empty shell? by South Asian Centre for Legal Studies, Colombo, July 4, 2018 A few days ago, the Office for Reparations Bill was gazetted. According to the Bill, the Office is expected to play a role in the formulation and implementation of reparations policies for violations of human rights and humanitarian law that have… Read more »
The Chronic and the Entrenched
Ethno-Religious Violence in Sri Lanka by Gehan Gunatilleke, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, 2018 http://ices.lk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/The-Chronic-and-the-Entrenched-Mr.-Gihan-Book-FINAL-WEB-PDF.pdf …This study set out to establish the hypothesis that ethno-religious violence in Sri Lanka is ‘entrenched’ within cultural, socio-political and state structures, and requires radical interventions to overcome. It first reflected on the nature of communal violence in Sri… Read more »
A Lingering Nightmare of the Past
and Perpetuation of Human Rights Abuses in a Post-Civil War Sri Lanka by DoYun Kim, Amnesty International USA Asia Advocacy and Government Relations Intern, ‘The Medium,’ July 5, 2018 On June 20, 2018, the House Foreign Affairs Global Human Rights Subcommittee hosted a hearing titled“Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka.” After the hearing, it is evident that… Read more »
Over 60,000 People Disappeared
Here Are the Families Trying to Find Them by Whitney Kimball, ‘Jezebel’ The Slot, New York, NY, July 1, 2018 If you pass a protest for “the Disappeared” today, it’s probably not referencing the migrant families separated by Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, but another massive population of people separated from their families whom we don’t hear… Read more »
House Subcommittee Hearing on “Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka”
by US House Subcommittee on Global Human Rights, Washington, DC, June 20, 2018 https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-human-rights-concerns-in-sri-lanka/ https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=108444
Amnesty Statement on Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka
by Amnesty International USA, June 20, 2018 On June 20th, 2018, Amnesty International USA submitted a Congressional statement for the record in anticipation of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee Hearing on “Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka.” Please find a link below to the statement for the record: AIUSA-Statement-on-Human-Rights-Concerns-in-Sri-Lanka-Final-1.pdf Date: June 20, 2018 RE: House Foreign… Read more »
Rep. Sherman’s Remarks at the House Hearing on“Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka,”
by Rep. Brad Sherman, June 20, 2018 “… I am not a member of this subcommittee, but I have been very involved in Sri Lanka as ranking member of the Asia Subcommittee, which had its own hearing hence delaying me from being here. Although Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, Sri Lanka’s northern and… Read more »
Army Top Brass Accountable for Violations Further Up the Ladder
by Athula Vithanage, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, Germany, June 18, 2018 The Sri Lankan government, which continuously avoid probing military implicated in committing serious human rights violations, has once again rewarded them with plum posts. Brigadier Deshapriya Gunawardena and Major General Duminda Keepetiwalana are those most recent recipients of military promotions. Brigadier Gunawardena appointed… Read more »
Resolution of 2nd Ottawa Conference
On Tamil Nationhood & Genocide in Sri Lanka Final Resolutions – 2nd International Conference – Ottawa 2018 – English final At the end of the 2nd International Conference on Tamil Nationhood and Genocide in Sri Lanka, held in Ottawa from May 5th-7th, 2018, the organizing committee aims to find a sustainable political solution that addresses… Read more »
The Reverberating Effects of Explosive Weapons
When the bombs fall silent by Action on Armed Violence, May 29, 2018 The long-term impact of explosive violence is known to be devastating, but is still relatively poorly understood. With civilian deaths from explosive weapons increasing each year, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) conducted research into the reverberating effects of manufactured explosive weapons, so… Read more »
Counter Terrorism & Legal Certainty
by Gehan Gunatilleke, The Bar Association Law Journal, Colombo, 2017 Counter-Terrorism_and_Legal_Certainty