The full statement of UN Human Rights Chief at the representative of OSIL report to the HRC 30: Mr President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present the report of OHCHR on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, including the findings of the comprehensive investigation mandated by Human Rights Council […]

GENEVA (Reuters) – The top U.N. human rights official called on Sri Lanka on Wednesday to investigate reports of secret places of detention and to set up a “credible and independent” body to clarify the fate of people missing since the civil war that ended in 2009. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human […]

By  Namini Wijedasa. American influence peddler registers his deals only after exposures in the Sunday Times and Foreign Policy Magazine For three consecutive years, the Auditor General’s Department queried the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) about the millions paid in fees to foreign lobbyists, consultants and public relations agencies. Zuberi2 The reports for 2013 […]

We release this statement in response to the draft resolution titled ‘Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ tabled under Item 2 and scheduled for debate and adoption on the 30th of September 2015. 1. We reiterate the firm conviction of the victims of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, a majority of […]

The Hindu:A file photo of Tamil National Alliance leader, R. Sampanthan. By T. Ramakrishnan “This is perhaps the best possible resolution that could have been achieved at the UNHRC”, says TNA leader R. Sampanthan. The draft resolution on Sri Lanka tabled at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by the U.S. and other countries […]

President of the United States Barack Obama praised President Maithripala Sirisena’s commitment and actions taken for strengthening of democracy and good governance in Sri Lanka. He made these remarks yesterday (Sep. 28) at a meeting with President Sirisena while participating in the 70th session of the UNGA. President Obama expressed his appreciation about the changes […]

COLOMBO | By Shihar Aneez An air force officer holds Sri Lanka’s national flag as the sun sets at Galle Face Green in Colombo February 2, 2013. Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte COLOMBO A U.S.-backed resolution at the United Nations that seeks justice for victims of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war has been softened to keep its government […]

Sri Lanka has committed some of the most heinous crimes against its own people, be it the Tamils or the Sinhalese in the post World War II period. The climax of it was the massacre of Tamil civilians in May 2009. There are 146,679 people unaccounted, 90,000 war widows, a minimum of 25,000 war orphans, […]

International Participation, Monitoring Crucial for Reforms. (Geneva) – The United Nations Human Rights Council should adopt a resolution ensuring a robust international role in Sri Lanka’s justice mechanism for abuses during the country’s brutal civil war, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution, expected to be adopted on October 1, 2015, contains a number of […]

  Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management In a significant shift in policy, on September 24, 2015, Colombo decided to co-sponsor a draft resolution (A/HRC/30/L.29) that was tabled at the 30th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The draft resolution titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’, […]

Domestic mechanism guarantees Sri Lanka’s sovereignty – PM Sandasen Marasinghe Sri Lanka’s sovereignty is guaranteed again by formulating a domestic mechanism to find out the truth about the war, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Prime Minister said the LTTE and its leader Prabhakaran are responsible for […]

Opposing the Hybrid Court System proposed by the UNHRC, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday stressed that justice for alleged war crime victims would be ensured only through a credible Domestic Inquiry into alleged war crimes. Addressing the media at the JVP office yesterday, Parliamentarian Vijitha Herath said there are no provisions within the constitution […]

We don’t want to make security personnel sacrificial lambs Compassionate Council will comprise of clergymen Missing Persons Office, Special Counsel’s Office, Truth Commission key areas of domestic mechanism Most problems stem from MR’s 2009 agreement Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday spelt out the key features of the domestic mechanism to be implemented following the UNHRC […]

The Governments of Sri Lanka, the United States, the United Kingdom, Montenegro, and Macedonia have published the text of a joint resolution which will form the basis of the follow up to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ “OISL” report. You can read the text here. What happens now? This resolution can be amended […]

( The peace symbol ) Don’t be complacent about Rajapaksa brand racial inciters. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe it seems is pushing for an expeditious replacement constitution. I suspect he is of the view that if there is moderate devolution to Tamil areas within six or twelve months, international and local demands for punishment of convicted […]

( Co group that sponsored Sri Lanka resolution at informal meeting to discus it) Since the end of the war in Sri Lanka, there have been four resolutions passed in the UN Human Rights Council – UN HRC. The first of these resolutions was initiated soon after the ‘end of the war’ on 26 May […]

by Dr A.C.Visvalingam, President, CIMOGG. The ninth day of January 2015 ended 10 years of naked ego-boosting, nepotism, corruption, waste, disregard for the Rule of Law, and confrontational government on a scale not seen before or since in this country. It also terminated five years of near-serfdom of the Sri Lankan people under the 18th […]

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene. This Thursday’s consensus resolution tabled before the United Nations Human Rights Council in relation to Sri Lanka’s war time atrocities has provoked starkly divergent responses in its aftermath. Calling for a more nuanced discussion On the one hand, we have the government patting itself on the back for having successfully negotiated […]

by Nimal Saderathne. Enormous economic challenges confront the coalition government. Facing up to these economic problems after months of political preoccupations and electoral politics is no easy task. It is much more than changing the mindset from electoral politics to economic management as it has to deal with more serious fundamental economic problems than before […]

Ban Ki MoonUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday he was “encouraged” by the Sri Lankan government’s response to a damning UN report about horrific abuses during the war with Tamil Tiger rebels. Ban’s statement followed the release of the long-awaited report from the UN human rights office on Wednesday which alleged that tens of thousands […]

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) cautiously welcomes the draft resolution on Sri Lanka tabled at the UN Human Rights Council on 24th September, which Sri Lanka is widely expected to co-sponsor. The text is a product of a consensus endorsement including Government of Sri Lanka, and reflects the sometimes competing interests of a wide range […]

(National Peace Council) The release of UN Report on alleged war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka’s war is an important step in the country’s transition to reconciliation.  It will require the Sri Lankan government and people to give their attention to the unhealed wounds of the past that continue to fester in […]

(GoSL brings in a paragraph of  the crimes by the LTTE) • Govt. will co-sponsor UNHRC resolution: Prime Minister • Negotiations on draft resolution go down to the wire • ‘International judges’ reference replaced with ‘foreign and C’wealth judges and lawyers’ • Govt. manages to include clause about accountability for LTTE crimes in resolution • […]

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka Thursday escaped a “hybrid” war crimes investigation involving foreign judges and prosecutors as the United States tabled a watered down resolution in line with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s stand. Instead of prescribing external involvement in the accountability process, the resolution leaves the involvement of any foreigners at the discretion of the […]

TNA Statement on the draft text of the resolution on Sri Lanka: The Tamil National Alliances welcomes the draft text of a resolution on Sri Lanka tabled by the co-sponsors of the resolution today. In particular, we welcome the draft resolution’s call on Sri Lanka to involve foreign and Commonwealth judges, lawyers, investigators and defenders […]

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to assess progress on the implementation of OHCHR’s recommendations and other relevant processes related to reconciliation, accountability, and human rights; to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-second session, and a comprehensive report followed by discussion on the implementation of the […]

 Says JVP has neglected family, children have no place to go and family has no faith in JVP Reveals children discriminated against as father is Wijeweera, therefore well-educated but jobless Accuses JVP of using family to build party image and JVP Leader Dissanayake of avoiding calls for help By Shanika Sriyananda Q: For how long you have you and […]

The government said yesterday that despite various views being expressed the Accountability Resolution on Sri Lanka that the US would be moving later this month, at the ongoing 30th Sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council, would be favourable to the country. The US having considered the realistic approach of the the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration […]

( German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier  with Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera) Germany has assured its support to Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Foreign Ministry said that the assurance had been given by German Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during talks he […]

TNA parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran called for “internationalised prosecutions” for mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka, as part of an accountability process for the crimes. Speaking at a panel discussion on Saturday hosted by the Global Tamils Forum (GTF) in London Mr Sumanthiran said the TNA had “no trust in a local judicial mechanism” which […]