Posts Categorized: International

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 »

Sri Lanka to Ask UN for More Time to Probe War Crimes

by AP on Voice of America, February 7, 2017 COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka says it needs more time to fulfill promises given to the U.N. human rights body to investigate war crime allegations from the nation’s long civil war, which ended nearly eight years ago. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told foreign correspondents late… Read more »

Cameroon Teeters After English Speakers Protest Treatment

A Bilingual Cameroon Teeters After English Speakers Protest Treatment By Francois Essomba & Dionne Searcey, ‘The New York Times,’ February 9, 2017 BAMENDA, Cameroon — Lawyers have long put up with laws that aren’t translated into their native English. They have endured French-speaking judges whose English is barely passable and who aren’t familiar with their… Read more »

War Crimes Swept Under the Carpet

The Sri Lankan war crimes swept under the carpet  by Bruce Haigh, ‘The Age,’ February 6, 2017 According to successive Sri Lankan governments the only war crimes committed during the country’s long civil war, from July 1983 to May 2009, were those perpetrated by the Tamils; aggressive denial has defined their response. The alienation of… Read more »

The Travel Ban and an Authoritarian ‘Ladder of Violence’

by Amanda Taub, ‘The New York Times,’ February 2, 2017  WASHINGTON — History is full of examples of leaders using “us versus them” politics to paint a particular minority group as a threat to the majority’s safety, morals or culture. That history has scholars of authoritarianism unnerved by President Trump’s order to halt immigration from… Read more »

Report of SR on Transitional Justice on Victim Participation

by UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Geneva, December 27, 2016 SR Transitional Justice Victim Participation Conclusions  84. The present report and the report to the General Assembly focusing on national consultation processes emphasize the importance of broad participation in transitional justice measures, including by victims. They… Read more »

Report of Special Rapporteur on Torture

by UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Geneva, December 22, 2016 SR Torture report on visit to Sri Lanka Conclusions 109. The issue of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is part of the legacy of the country’s armed conflict, and one of the reasons why the citizens of Sri Lanka continue… Read more »

ITJPSL Welcomes Juan Mendez Report

by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, January 26, 2017 ITJP Juan-Mendez-Report-Welcomed PRESS RELEASE: Johannesburg (26 January 2017): A UN report describing a “culture of torture” in Sri Lanka reinforced by decades of impunity is a wake up call to President Sirisena’s Government to comply with its obligations under international law and… Read more »

GSP+ forSri Lanka – Testing the EU’s Commitments

by Thambu Kanagasabai, Toronto, Canada, January 21, 2017 Under this scheme EU [European Union] grants additional tariff reductions to developing countries for imports eligible to qualify for these duty concessions. This scheme which was enjoyed by Sri Lanka until 2010 was suspended due to the ‘failure of Mahinda’s Government to address reported human rights violations… Read more »