Amnesty International

By Basil Fernando. The Amnesty Intentional has published a collection of poems titled ‘ Silenced Shadows’. It’s a collection of 15 poems and translations of the said poems into all three languages, Sinhalese, Tamil and English. Originally, Amnesty International called for poems on enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka and selected 15 poems for publication. Five […]

In October 2015, the Sri Lankan Government made historic commitments to the people of Sri Lanka and to the Human Rights Council (HRC) “to undertake a comprehensive approach to dealing with the past, incorporating the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures” aimed at delivering truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.1 These four pillars […]

Making its commendation to the  on going 112th session of the UN Human Rights Committee, the  Amnesty International has emphasized  the need for effective mechanisms and procedures to ensure the transparent and effective implementation of the recommendations to Sri Lanka by UN Treaty Bodies, including the Concluding Observations of the Human Rights  Committee. It further […]

Civilians who had been trapped in Sri Lanka’s north, during the last month of the war. May 2009. © Private This image was taken in the last month of Sri Lanka’s bloody armed conflict. These people were among the tens of thousands of civilians who were killed and wounded at that time. Caught in the […]

CHOGM: Amnesty Youth (London) getting ready  to remind their  PM and FM of HR violations in Sri Lanka (02.11.2013) Vidya Venkathe choice of Sri Lanka as a venue for CHOGM 2013 has always remained controversial. But now that most member countries have agreed to go ahead and participate in the high-profile summit happening in Colombo, […]

Diplomats from Commonwealth countries meeting in London today must push Sri Lanka to end its continuing crackdown on human rights defenders, Amnesty International said. The Commonwealth Committee of the Whole is meeting 17-18 October to prepare for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo in November.“Commonwealth countries must agree new […]

Sri Lanka’s disturbing human rights record means it should be barred from hosting a key Commonwealth summit in November or chairing the organization, Amnesty International said ahead of a key meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers today.The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group – made up of foreign ministers and Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, who gather to address violations […]

Sri Lankan leaders must address the persistent climate of fear in the country, Amnesty International said as the UN human rights chief Navi Pillay concluded her visit to the island. Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made her first official visit to Sri Lanka from 25-31 August. It comes just before the […]

Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has just concluded a weeklong visit to Sri Lanka. Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has just concluded a weeklong visit to Sri Lanka. © LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images The Sri Lankan conflict may have ended in 2009, but the level of human rights […]

Four years have passed since the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan authorities continue to deny mounting evidence of crimes under international law committed by its forces during Sri Lanka’s protracted armed conflict. They also attempt to stop their own citizens from communicating with the UN and other international bodies about […]

Sri Lanka: Activists  campaign for the release of two disappeared colleagues ( C 4 Photo) Jonathan Miller Foreign Affairs Correspondent    Amnesty International says Sri Lanka should not host November’s Commonwealth heads of government meeting unless it stops “systematic violation of human rights”.Amnesty International brands Sri Lanka’s government a regime There has been a surge of […]

The Sri Lankan government is intensifying its crackdown on critics. The Sri Lankan government is intensifying its crackdown on critics. © AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena The Sri Lankan government is intensifying its crackdown on critics through threats, harassment, imprisonment and violent attacks, Amnesty International said in a report released today.The document, Assault on Dissent reveals how […]

Dr. Manoharan at UNHRC; Where is justice for my son Mr PresidentMy name is Dr. Kasippillai Manoharan. On 2 January 2006, Sri Lankan soldiers brutally murdered my beloved son Ragihar on a beach in Trincomalee. My family and I were forced to flee Sri Lanka because we sought justice for his killing. Today, 7 long […]

The UN failed to protect civilians during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict according its own report, released today, prompting Amnesty International to renew its call for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE). The Report of the UN Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action […]