Posts Categorized: International

CEDAW Report on Sri Lanka

by UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Geneva, March 3, 2017 CEDAW/C/LKA/CO/8 Concluding observations on the eighth periodic report of Sri Lanka http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CEDAW%2FC%2FLKA%2FCO%2F8&Lang=en The Committee considered the eighth report of Sri Lanka (CEDAW/C/LKA/8) at its 1484th and 1485th meetings, on 22 February 2017 (see CEDAW/C/SR.1484 and CEDAW/C/SR.1485). The Committee’s list of issues and… Read more »

GoSL Complicity in Paramilitary Factions’ HR Abuses

from Wikileaks, accessed April 20, 2017 https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07COLOMBO728_a.html Date: 2007 May 18, 09:22 Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b, d) 1. (S) SUMMARY: Allegations of government complicity in crimes committed by organized paramilitary groups have mounted in the last year. Paramilitaries such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-breakaway Karuna group and… Read more »

‘The Tamil Nadu factor’

Demanding justice for genocide in Sri Lanka by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘Open Democracy,’ April 13, 2017 From politicians to protestors, the people of Tamil Nadu are making waves in Indian politics, rallying around the need for justice for the war crimes committed against Sri Lanka’s Tamils. Protests began in Tamil Nadu in January 2017 against the… Read more »

For Sri Lanka, US Security Cooperation is Not the Cure

by Taylor Dibbert, ‘War on the Rocks,’ Washington, DC, April 3, 2017 Sri Lanka is a complicated country. In a recent article, Nilanthi Samaranayake notes that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has been evolving since the unexpected ascension of President Maithripala Sirisena in January 2015. Unfortunately, the trends that Samaranayake has succinctly captured — especially a… Read more »

What Just Happened in Geneva (2.0)?

by Sri Lanka Campaign for Justice and Peace, London, March 31, 2017 Last week, members of the UN Human Rights Council adopted another resolution on Sri Lanka – Resolution 34/1 – renewing the government’s pledges to deliver a meaningful process of justice and reconciliation.  In this post, we briefly explain how and why the resolution… Read more »

Holding On To Life

by Francis Harrison, ‘Huffington Post’ The Blog, Los Angeles, March 30, 2017 Tired and in shock, he leans on her shoulder as if it were his mother’s. His reddened eyes keep on closing as he nods off, drained by sleepless nights spent reliving the past. Seeing the two of them together – both torture survivors… Read more »

Honoring Sandya Ekneligodya

International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony by US Dept. of State, Washington, DC, March 29, 2017 From the booklet handed out at the event: Sandya Eknelyoda is a symbol of the search for justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.  Following the disappearance of her husband, Prageeth Eknelygoda in 2010, Sandya made it her mission to… Read more »

HRW: Sri Lanka Should Develop Timetable

MARCH 22, 2017 11:48AM EDT Sri Lanka Should Develop Timetable for Full Implementation of its UN Commitments Item 2: Interactive Dialogue on High Commissioner’s Report on Sri Lanka Human Rights Watch acknowledges the Sri Lankan government’s engagement with the international community, including with the UN’s special procedures, over the last two years. We share however… Read more »

Report of the High Commissioner on Sri Lanka

Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka March 22, 2017 HCHR report on Sri Lanka March 22 2017 and at http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/34/20 Webcast of today’s statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, plus the Interactive Dialogue with states & NGOs at http://webtv.un.org/topics-issues/member-states/watch/id-high-commissioner-report-on-sri-lanka-54th-meeting-34th-regular-session-human-rights-council-/5367403594001 Human Rights Council 34th Session   Item 2: Oral presentation of the… Read more »

Sturgeon Says Scotland Could Hold Independence Vote

 In ‘Autumn of 2018’ by Reuters, posted on ‘The New York Times,’ March 9, 2017 EDINBURGH — Scotland could hold an independence referendum in the autumn of 2018, just months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC, and a second poll in a month suggested… Read more »

OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka

Advance edited version February 10, 2017 Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka 10 Feb 2017 http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/34/20 Summary    The present report assesses the progress made in the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human… Read more »

US State Dept. Human Rights Report 2016

Sri Lanka EXECUTIVE SUMMARY   Sri Lanka is a constitutional, multiparty republic with a freely elected government. In January 2015, voters elected President Maithripala Sirisena to a five-year term. The Parliament shares power with the president. August 2015 parliamentary elections resulted in a coalition government between the two major political parties. Both elections were free and… Read more »

Report of the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

Report of the Special-Rapporteur on minority issues on her mission to Sri Lanka Feb 2017               Contents I. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 II. Minority rights: legal, political and institutional framework………………………………………………… 4 III. Overall challenges for minorities …………………………………………………………………………………….. 6 A. Governance and political participation ……………………………………………………………………… 6 B. Linguistic rights …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6… Read more »

China and Sri Lanka: Between a Dream and a Nightmare

Colombo is realizing the unintended strategic consequences of closer ties with Beijing by Jeff Smith, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, November 18, 2016 My previous article for The Diplomat examined Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte’s trip to Beijing and the security and economic implications of the deals he sealed with China to construct ports and artificial islands in the… Read more »

CRS: Background, Reform, Reconciliation, and Geopolitical Context

by US Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC, January 4, 2017 CRS Sri Lanka Background Reform Reconciliation and Geopolitical Context Jan 2017 Summary Sri Lanka is a nation of geopolitical importance despite its relatively small size. Strategically positioned near key maritime sea lanes that transit the Indian Ocean and link Asia with Europe and Africa, Sri… Read more »

A Look Through CIA Reports

‘Burn Jaffna to the ground’ by ‘Tamil Guardian,’ London, February 20, 2017 Declassified documents from the CIA show how despite regarding himself as “South Asia’s elder statesman and a political moderate” the Sri Lankan president “had twice ordered his forces to take Jaffna” as part of a massive military assault on the peninsula.  A set… Read more »

UN Rights Envoy Calls for Inquiry into Abuses of Rohingya in Myanmar

Two questions loom large: Will one of the 47 member states in the human rights council put forward a resolution to form a commission of inquiry? And, if so, will Myanmar cooperate?… However, the military would be under intense pressure to cooperate with a UN-backed commission of inquiry. Refusal by the government and military to cooperate… Read more »

Putting the Wolf to Guard the Sheep

Sri Lanka’s Witness Protection Authority by International Truth & Justice Project, South Africa, February 13, 2017 ITJP Sri-Lanka-Witness-Protection-Report Executive Summary The new body set up in Sri Lanka to protect witnesses and victims of crimes, the “National Authority” includes three appointments made by the Government of President Maithripala Sirisena that give rise to grave concerns… Read more »

How the US Helped Destroy LTTE Floating Armories

by P.K. Balachandran, ‘The Indian Express,’ February 10, 2017 Ex-Sri Lankan navy chief Colombage narrates how the US helped destroy LTTE floating armories COLOMBO: Former Sri Lankan navy chief Adm. Jayanath Colombage has, in his recently published book Asymmetric Warfare At Sea: The Case of Sri Lanka, described how the United States helped the Sri Lankan navy destroy the LTTE’s… Read more »