UN-Sri Lanka

By Sanjeewa Wimalagunrathne and Tharaka Hettiarachchi. It has been a decade in to their displacement and hundreds of families are still awaiting the dawn of a new hope—the hope for a new home. On the other side of the coin, returning lands in Sampur under the current regime in 2016 was a great achievement for […]

Image: Thousands of mothers are still waiting for the answers and justice for their disappeared children. (c)s.deshapriya. (GENEVA, March 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ ) The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), the British Tamils Forum (BTF), the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) and the US Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) today welcomed the UN Office of the High Commissioner’s report to […]

Image: Minister Samaraweera at a side event during  HRC 34, reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to Transitional Justice, including a Justice mechanism. (c)s.deshapriya. On 1st October 2015, Sri Lanka committed to fulfilling a transformative agenda for reconciliation and transitional justice at the UNHRC in Geneva. Resolution 30/1 is a result of the recognition of the nation’s duty […]

Image: UN Rights Commissioner (UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre) The report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights would give an indication of the forthcoming decision of the UN Human Rights Council with regards to its resolution on Sri Lanka. The report is primarily a fact based one. Almost every assertion made is backed by evidence. […]

Conclusions and recommendations. 61. In 2015, by co-sponsoring Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, the Government of Sri Lanka recognized the need to address the past in order to build a brighter future, grounded in accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law. The lack of decisive steps to that end, and of appropriate […]

(IMADR/ 2019.03.05) On Thursday the 28th of February at the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council, jointly with Amnesty International, FORUM-ASIA, CIVICUS, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Franciscans International, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists and the International Service for Human Rights, IMADR held a side event titled “Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights […]

Image: Special Rapporteur on countering terrorism  Fionnuala Ní Aoláin. In the context of Sri Lanka, as mandate holder I have continued the engagement opened up by the visit of Mr. Emmerson July 2017. The report affirms the important opportunity available to the government to address long-standing and serious human rights concerns, in respect of fair trial, allegations […]

Image: The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky in Colombo. Statement by HE Mr. A. L. A. Azeez Ambassador / Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka (28 February 2019,) after the presentation of the Report (A/HRC/40/57/Add.2) on the visit of Independent Expert to Sri Lanka from 3rd to 11th September 2018. Mr. President, […]

27 February 2019 Human Rights Council 40th session: draft resolution Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka The Human Rights Council, PP1 Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, PP2 Guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant instruments, […]

(26 February 2019 / Daily Mirror) Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said he submitted a Cabinet memorandum asking for general amnesty to all those who are accused of war crimes – both from the armed forces and the LTTE. In an interview with Daily Mirror, he said it was inappropriate to single out […]

Image: UNHRC, Geneva. (c) S.Deshapriya. Sri Lanka: Need for time-bound plan for implementation of commitments to the Human Rights Council February 25, 2019 Your Excellency,l We write to seek your support in ensuring that the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC or Council) adopts a resolution at this 40th session to maintain scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s […]

Image: Minister Samaraweera at HRC30 (c) S.Deshapriya. (Text of Speech made by the Minister of Finance and Media, Hon. Mangala Samaraweera during the adjournment debate on the Constitutional Council in Parliament on 21st February 2019) Hon. Speaker, • If my memory serves me right, I cannot recall an occasion in Sri Lanka’s recent history when […]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Read the full report as a PDF:Sri Lanka Briefing Note No 14 Feb. 2019 In the last two months of 2018, Sri Lanka witnessed a political coup led by its President. The coup was short lived. The attempt to overthrow the democratically elected Government and bring back the authoritarian ruler, who was rejected […]

(Sunday Observer 17 Feb 2019) Right wing politicians have taken up cudgels against Navy officials testifying against senior rankers implicated in an abduction for ransom racket in 2008-2009. Investigators worry the campaign of intimidation could hamper the probe and deter key witnesses from coming forward In 2012, Naval Intelligence officer Lieutenant Commander Krishan Welagedara became […]

Image: Remains of two UN peacekeepers killed in Mali arrive in Sri Lanka. His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Presidential Residence Paget Road Colombo 07 Your Excellency, Re: His Excellency the President’s Statement in the Parliament about the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. We have been made aware of […]

Time is running out for the Sri Lankan authorities to deliver on its 2015 commitments to truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence, Amnesty International warned today in a new briefing. As the tenth anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s internal conflict looms in May, progress on UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 has […]

Image ©SLB The Commission chaired by Christophe Deloire and Shirin Ebadi is today releasing the “International Declaration on Information and Democracy,” which establishes democratic guarantees for the global information and communication space. Seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in Paris, the READ THE DECLARATION HERE“International Declaration on Information and Democracy” is establishing […]

New York/10 November 2018. Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on developments in Sri Lanka. The Secretary-General learned with concern of President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve Sri Lanka’s parliament and move to new parliamentary elections on 5 January 2019. The Secretary-General underlines the utmost importance of respecting democratic processes and institutions and resolving differences in accordance […]

While Sirisena and Rajapaksa may currently have the upper hand, the outcome of the power struggle is still undecided. Influential governments and international institutions should support those who are peacefully challenging Rajapaksa’s appointment from within the country by sending strong messages that the unconstitutional move will bring significant costs for Sirisena, Rajapaksa and the Sri […]

The JVP opposes the Prevention of Terrorism Act enacted in 1979 as well as the new Counter-Terrorism Bill and demands that the government abolishes the old Act and withdraws the new Bill that it intends introducing. This was stated by the Information Secretary of the JVP Vijitha Herath at a press conference held at the […]

Tamil mother waiting for her son to come back ( Image courtesy of Vikalpa) Parliament of Sri Lanka this week, passed into law the ‘Office for Reparations Bill’ (the Bill), the second mechanism promised within the transitional justice agenda. Though the noise on the Bill was somewhat muted unlike the lead up to the enactment […]

Image: Minister Field and High Commissioner James Dauris visiting a mine field. Mark Field, Minster of State for Asia, Pacific and Commonwealth Office, UK, Next year Sri Lanka will have enjoyed 10 uninterrupted years free from the misery of armed conflict. Whatever your view on how Sri Lanka has progressed since, that very fact alone is […]

October 4th 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The second reading of the ‘Office for Reparations Bill’ (the Bill) is listed to be taken up in Parliament on Wednesday, 10th October 2018. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) raises serious concerns with the present form of the Bill and notes, yet again, that the Bill will adversely […]

Image: The 39th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) opened in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 10. (Source: AFP) GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, October 1, 2018. In early-September 2018, former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa proclaimed that his government’s fight against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should not be considered an ‘ethnic war’, as ‘military […]

Since 2012, several landmark resolutions have been approved by various UN bodies on the issue of the safety of journalists. IFEX’s 5-minute guide explains what they are, and how civil society can use them to keep governments accountable. This is one in a series of IFEX explainers aimed at strengthening the ability of civil society […]

(26 Sep 2018)President Maithripala Sirisena called upon the international community to look at Sri Lanka with a fresh perspective and consider the tremendous progress made by the government towards reconciliation, restoration of democratic freedoms, human rights and the rule of law and extend the fullest support to the build a progressive, democratic, free and equal […]

Image: Lt. Commander Krishan Welagedara. Lt. Commander Krishan Welagedara provided damning evidence to CID sleuths in 2012, when he was able to help the agency to establish that the 11 youths abducted by a suspected navy gang were held in detention at Gun Site at the Trincomalee Naval Base. A Navy Intelligence officer, Welagedara was privy […]

At the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, President Maithripala Sirisena will announce a set of new proposals for consideration at the March 2019 session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR). He will also submit these proposals to the United nations Secretary General António Guterres as well as […]

Statement by H.E. Mr. A. L. A. Azeez, Ambassador / Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka. 12 September 2018. Mr. President, Sri Lanka is pleased to join this clustered ID with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) and the WG on Arbitrary Detention. We avail of this opportunity to share the views of the Government of Sri […]

Image: . Seong-Phil Hong, Chair- Rapporteur of the UN WGAD. The Working Group’s visit to Sri Lanka from 4 to 15 December 2017 included visits to places of deprivation of liberty in Colombo, Negombo, Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, and Polonnaruwa. The Group visited over 30 places of deprivation of liberty, including police stations; prisons; immigration detention facilities […]