UN-Sri Lanka

(New York) – Ten years since the end of Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war, the government has failed to provide justice for the conflict’s many victims, Human Rights Watch said today. The conflict ended on May 18, 2009, with the total defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Sri Lankan government pledged to provide […]

On the tenth anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s three decade-long internal armed conflict, Amnesty International calls on the government of Sri Lanka to end impunity and put accountability for crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses at the heart of its transitional justice process. The horrific Easter Sunday attacks on […]

Image: Relatives of people who went missing during Sri Lanka’s civil war taking part in a candle light vigil. File   | Photo Credit: Getty images. Meera Srinivasan. Some of the lands of survivors are yet to be released, relatives are still missing and reconciliation is afar. Given a choice between living in a camp for displaced […]

Statement by the United Nations in Sri Lanka on the prevailing situation in the country. 2019 May 14 (Colombo, Sri Lanka) – The United Nations in Sri Lanka is concerned about emerging incidents of communal violence and tension in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. The United Nations calls on the Government and […]

Joint Statement by Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Karen Smith, United Nations Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, on attacks against religious minorities in Sri Lanka . (New York, 13 May 2019) Recalling their recent statements against violent extremism and hate speech, the United Nations Special Adviser on […]

 R .Sampanthan. As I have often stated earlier, the future of the country is not purely an economic issue. It is a very multifaceted issue. Even the future economy of the country is dependent upon several issues; it is dependent upon its unity and its strengths based upon the unity; it is dependent upon the […]

DR. S. W. Premarathan – Attorney at Law. President Maithripala Sirisena, in the course of his speech to the nation on National Day, said that he is concerned about the interference of the members of the international community in the internal affairs of the country. There is no doubt that he had in his mind […]

Image: Shakthika Sathkumara Annya Wipulasena. When post-modernist, award winning novelist Shakthika Sathkumara walked into the Polgahawela Police Station on 1st April morning along with his lawyer and two other associates, what followed was completely unforeseen. About four Buddhist monks were at the station already. Sathkumara, a 33-year-old father of two, was hoping to avoid a confrontation […]

(Maneshka Borham/ Sunday Observer) The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) this week further strengthen its case against Sri Lanka’s top military chief, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne after he was linked to the now famous case of 11 missing youth believed to have been abducted by a ‘Navy abduction for ransom gang’between 2008 – 2009. Arrested by the […]

During the past few weeks, I have been watching the many headlines, debates, misinformation, misrepresentation of facts as well as self-congratulatory statements by some members of the delegation that went to Geneva to participate in the 40th session of the Human Rights Council where the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet presented the Report […]

The Hybrid Court could be constituted following the example of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) under the Chairmanship of Justice Bhagavathy, former Northern Province Chief Minister and former Supreme Court Judge C.V. Wigneswaran said. “Having already granted nearly four years by Resolutions Numbers 30/1 and 34/1, the granting of a further two […]

Image: Torture by prison officials at Agunakolapalassa prison came in to light through a leaked CCTV footage. (Press release/29 March, 2019)  GENEVA  — The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture is set to carry out its first visit to Sri Lanka from 2 to 12 April to examine the treatment of people deprived of […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez . President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday stressed that he would not implement any decisions that would violate the country’s Constitution and independence at the whims and fancies of the international community or any other persons. The President commenting on UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet’s proposal to […]

Sri Lanka’s non-compliance later had forced the UN rights body resolutions. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that Sri Lanka preserved its sovereignty by not agreeing to set up an office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the country even as main Tamil party TNA called for allowing foreign judges and prosecutors […]

Human Rights Council Fortieth session 25 February–22 March 2019 Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka Albania,* Australia, Austria, Belgium,* Bulgaria, Canada,* Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland,* France,* Georgia,* Germany,* Greece,* Iceland, Ireland,* Italy, Luxembourg,* Malta,* Montenegro,* Netherlands,* New Zealand,* North Macedonia,* Norway,* Poland,* Romania,* San Marino,* Slovakia, Sri Lanka,* Sweden,* United Kingdom of […]

Image: Sandaya Ekneligoda has been fighting for justice for years , but national institutions has not been able to bring the killers her husband to book. The ratification by consensus of Resolution No 40/1 by the UN Human Rights Council has given Sri Lanka another two years in which to implement the commitments it made […]

Image: File photo of alt-Sinahala nationalist demo against international involvement  in a justice mechanism. (20/03/ 2019 Geneva) The ICJ today called at the UN for prompt establishment of a judicial accountability mechanism with international involvement, for Sri Lanka.The statement, delivered during an interactive dialogue on the OHCHR report on Sri Lanka at the Human Rights […]

Geneva, March 21 (newsin.asia): The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC): on Thursday through consensus passed a resolution giving the government of Sri Lanka two more years to implement the resolution 30/1 of 2015, ie: until March 2021. After the resolution was adopted the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, said that the passing of the […]

(20 March 2019.)The Human Rights Council this morning held an interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka. Interactive Dialogue on Sri Lanka The Council has before it Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka – Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/40/23) Presentation of […]

The UN Resolution 30/1 on Sri-Lanka was adopted by the Council along with the co-spon-sorship of Sri-Lanka to ensure truth, justice, reparation and non-recurrence based on the inter-national human rights law and international humanitarian law. But the Sri-Lankan government has given up these international standards and the objectives of the Resolution 30/1 and uses it […]

Statement issued by former president and leader of the opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa. “The government has announced that they will co-sponsor yet another resolution against Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council. Resolution 30/1, the first such co-sponsored resolution in October 2015 committed the government to among other things, setting up a hybrid war crimes […]

In contrast to Colombo’s largely polarized sound and fury on the Counter-Terror Bill, it is refreshing to look at the manner in which South Africa has dealt with uncannily similar dilemmas of balancing national security imperatives and constitutional rights in bringing its counter-terror law into effect more than a decade ago. Shared legacies of horrific […]

The commitments made by the Government of Sri Lanka four years ago at the UNHRC session in Geneva have had lasting impressions on its citizens. While some perceive the commitments of Resolution 30/1 (Res 30/1) as an international obligation that threatens our sovereignty or a political tool and a box ticking process, others even view […]

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 […]