With the recent passage of yet another UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka — dealing broadly with human rights, accountability and reconciliation — now is an opportune time to clarify and explain how Sri Lanka’s new government has said it will approach transitional justice. The interpretation of the resolution remains a source of… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Colombia: Agreement on Disappearances Moving Forward
The Commission has stepped up to the plate. It created an inter-agency working group to assist in fulfilling its charge. It will review and compare existing data bases on the disappeared; seek ways to improve procedures for finding, identifying and exhuming remains; and coordinate its work with victims’ groups and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It will also hold four regional forums and one national forum to collect proposals from academics, victims, and human rights organizations that will help inform their recommendations to the negotiators. Such forums have proven invaluable in earlier efforts to engage civil society in developing and sharing their proposals in relation to the particular items of the peace agenda.
Yemen’s Imposed Federal Boundaries
Rather than a rejection of federalism per se, the Houthis’ refusal of the six-region division is as much grounded in the lack of a genuinely inclusive decision-making process as in the specific parameters that undermine their interests. While none of this background serves to justify the Houthis’ recourse to arms, it does highlight the need for a new transition process based on equitable power sharing and sincere ownership across Yemen’s diverse political and geographic landscape as the only way out of the crisis.
Tamil Grassroots Organizations Seek Clarity from Sri Lanka on UN Probe
A collective of Tamil organisations representing the war affected in Sri Lanka’s north has expressed doubts about the governments stance on its understanding and approach to the war crimes probe proposed by the United Nations. In a meeting with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on 29 October in Colombo, the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) has… Read more »
How can Sri Lanka Demonstrate its Commitment to Peace?
As Sri Lanka deals with its violent past, incremental moves taken right now could lay the groundwork for the genuine peace. Recently, senior figures in the Obama administration have championed another ‘democratic success story’; this time we’re talking about Sri Lanka. This small, strategically important island nation is recovering from a brutal civil war that… Read more »
“The Identity of Sri Lanka Must be Redefined”
We need a reconciliation process in the relationship between Tamils and Sinhalese Interview with Professor SJ. Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum Interviewed by Thomas Kaiser of Zeit-Fragen/Current Concerns ( www.zeit-fragen.ch) newspaper from Switzerland ( October 26, 2015, Zurich, Sri Lanka Guardian) When in 1948, in the context of decolonisation, the British left the… Read more »
For Sri Lanka to Break Cycle of Impunity Promises Need to Be Kept
Sri Lanka may be undertaking a change of course towards accountability for atrocities committed during its 26-year civil war. The new government promised to establish a truth commission and co-sponsored a UN resolution calling for international involvement in a domestic tribunal. At the same time, a commission of inquiry initiated by the previous government issued… Read more »
Truth, Justice and Non-recurrence Crucial for True Reconciliation
by Daily News**, Colombo, October 24, 2015 The truth, justice, reparation and non-recurrence are the crucial words in the process in achieving true reconciliation, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan said in Parliament yesterday. Participating in the adjournment debate, he welcomed the initiative of the All Party Meeting chaired by the President. “All political party leaders and… Read more »
What Do Constitutions Do?
by Sumit Bisarya, Lawyers for Justice in Libya, December 24, 2015 Sumit Bisarya International IDEA www.idea.int/ Constitutions cannot build roads or bridges. They cannot cure disease, educate children or put food on the table (at least directly). A few countries, such as the United Kingdom, seem to get by perfectly well without a written Constitution… Read more »
ICES: Political Economy of Post-War Sri Lanka
ICES Political Economy of Post-War Sri Lanka There are three main conceptual flaws in this discourse. First, it wants to forget the war as a historical event. It wants to forget the war, how it ended and the implications of these events especially on the nature of the state in Sri Lanka. It ignores the… Read more »
Rep. Engel Statement on Latest UNHRC Sri Lanka Resolution
Oct 2, 2015 Press Release WASHINGTON, DC—Representative Eliot L. Engel, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement welcoming the adoption of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka: “The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation… Read more »
BBC: Sri Lanka Judge Says War Crimes Claims are ‘Credible’
Sri Lanka judge says war crimes claims are ‘credible’ 21 October 2015 A government-appointed Sri Lankan judge says allegations the army committed war crimes during the long conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels are “credible”. He was leading the first government inquiry into the atrocities, one month after the UN released its own findings. President… Read more »
The Geneva Resolution & Politics
by Niran Anketell, ‘Groundviews,’ Colombo, October 10, 2015 The recent Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka is a remarkable document. Crafted in the immediate aftermath of the devastating OISL Report on Sri Lanka whose central recommendation was that a ‘special hybrid court’ be established in Sri Lanka, and despite some hiccups during negotiations, a… Read more »
A More Robust Democracy will Safeguard Peace in Sri Lanka
by Richard Armitage & Karen Bue, ‘South China Morning Post,’ Hong Kong, October 9, 2015 The horrors of the conflict in Sri Lanka were laid bare in a report issued last month by the UN Human Rights Council. Unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and the use of child soldiers were among the parade of… Read more »
Fact Sheets on OISL Report
OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka Fact Sheet 1: Overview of the Report Fact Sheet 2: Torture Fact Sheet 3: Deprivation of Liberty Fact Sheet 4: Unlawful Killings Fact Sheet 5: Abduction Fact Sheet 6: Control of Movement Fact Sheet 7: Last Phase of War
Pressuring Sri Lanka for Peace
Last Thursday, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution that seemed, once again, to promote postwar reconciliation and express a broad international consensus for ensuring those who committed serious human-rights violations during the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war are held accountable. The problem is the resolution’s overly diplomatic and, at times, vague… Read more »
Sen. Cardin Speech on the Importance of Accountability in Sri Lanka
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 6, 2015 CONTACTS: Adam Sharon 202-224-4651 Sue Walitsky 202-224-4524 Cardin Speech on the Importance of Accountability in Sri Lanka WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, submitted the following remarksfor the congressional record regarding the importance of accountability in… Read more »
Reaction to UNHRC Resolution in Colombo
PM upbeat on Sri Lankan solution by ‘Daily Mirror,’ Colombo, September 29, 2015 Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that the resolution co-sponsored by the US and Sri Lanka placed before the UNHRC would pave the way to bring about a Sri Lankan solution to the question of reconciliation and accountability during the last stages… Read more »
He was a U.S. Ally in Africa. Now He’s on Trial for Crimes against Humanity
HRW Q & A re Habre’s trial He was our man in Africa. Hissene Habre, who ruled Chad in the 1980s, was a U.S. ally in good standing even as his government killed tens of thousands of people and filled prisons with enemies who were starved, beaten and tortured. Last week he finally had to… Read more »
Colombo Consensus 2.0
By Daniel Balazs, Patrick Mendis, ‘Foreign Policy,’ Washington, DC, October 1, 2015 The new Sri Lankan government is re-balancing its foreign policy, drifting away from China’s orbit toward a more equidistant engagement with India and the United States. With the growing economic importance of the Indian Ocean, the geo-strategically located Sri Lanka is becoming crucial… Read more »