A US State Department official is to visit Sri Lanka this week to study the state of the media following the January 8 elections.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Eileen O’Connor will have talks in Sri Lanka with Government officials and the media during her visit, officials told the Colombo Gazette.
During her visit Eileen O’Connor will also have discussions on the proposed Right to Information Act (RTI).
O’Connor has worked as an attorney specializing in legal crisis management for high profile litigation, investigations, and controversies both in the U.S. and abroad.
She also served as President of the International Center for Journalists, a nonprofit that trains journalists in emerging democracies.
Prior to that, Ms. O’Connor spent 24 years as an award-winning on-air reporter, producer, and Bureau Chief for ABC News and CNN, covering the White House and conflicts in Bosnia, Chechnya, Northern Ireland, Israel, Ossetia, Ingushetia and the fall of Communism from bases in London, Moscow, Tokyo and Washington.
Her pro bono work centered on human rights issues for individuals and various non-governmental organizations, such as the Center for Justice and Accountability, the Women’s Refugee Commission, and Vital Voices.
O’Connor has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, a post-graduate Diploma in World Politics from the London School of Economics, and B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University. Ms. O’Connor is an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University Law Center, and a member of the Atlantic Council. (Colombo Gazette)