UNHRC

H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa President of the Republic of Sri Lanka Presidential Secretariat Colombo 1 Your Excellency, Granting of a Presidential Pardon to Former Army Corporal Sunil Ratnayake The Human Rights Commissions of Sri Lanka expresses it deep concern on the reported grant of a Presidential Pardon to Corporal Sunil Ratnayake who was convicted of eight […]

Condemning the pardoning former army Sergeant Sunil Rathnayake by president Rajapaksa, the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research says that   “the pardon of Ratnayake in the context of  highly militarised environment combined with the unconditional respect and admiration that the military enjoys from the majority Sinhala Buddhist community in Sri Lanka is simply President Rajapaksa consolidating […]

The grant of presidential pardon, on Thursday, to a Sri Lankan soldier on death row for murdering eight Tamil villagers has sparked justified outrage among those who have been demanding justice from the state for past crimes. Far from helping the cause of accountability for war-time atrocities, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has gone the other way […]

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesperson and former MP, M.A.Sumanthiran, has reacted sharply to the Presidential pardon given on Thursday to Sri Lankan Army Sergeant R M Sunil Rathnayake, who was sentenced to death for killing in cold blood, eight Tamil captives including a child at Mirusuvil in Tamil-speaking North Lanka in 2000. Sumanthiran pointed out […]

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera asserted that Sri Lanka’s withdrawal from the co-sponsorship of the UN Human Right Council (UNHRC) Resolution had no impact on the Resolution itself and the other countries that co-sponsored it would take it forward even more “vigorously and vehemently”. Below are excerpts of his interview with […]

Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the United Nations Human Rights Council, presented a report1 to the Human Rights Council on 24 February, based on his visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka from 15 to 26 August 2019. The report was a detailed […]

In its statement to UN Human Rights Council on the High Commissioner’s Report,  Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka emphasises that the weakening of the relevant provisions of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in strengthening independent institutions will seriously hamper checks and balances and protection of people’s rights under the Rule of Law. Sri […]

In a meeting with the Netherlands Ambassador Ms. Gonggrijp, Mr. Sampanthan Leader of the Tamil National Alliance has pointed out that “The UNHRC resolution was based on promoting reconciliation accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. If we are to achieve lasting peace in this country, all three aspects must be addressed”. The Ambassador has […]

The director of Vavuniya-based Thinappuyal newspaper, Sakthivelpillai Prakash and his wife alongside another editor, were summoned by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) on Monday, following the paper’s coverage of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The latest incident of journalist intimidation comes as the 43rd session of the Council is currently underway, where Sri […]

Image: Families of the disappeared writing names of the missing loved ones on a memorial wall. Sri Lanka does not yet have a figure regarding the total number of persons that have disappeared, says OMP. Issuing a statement on the Second Anniversary of the establishment of the Office on Missing Persons it says that “The […]

There is a dreadfully fractured logic in what the Government of Sri Lanka articulated before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as it withdrew from UNHRC Resolution 30/1 this week. This is playing to the nationalist gallery with an eye to the impending General Elections. It has disastrous consequences for the country, make no […]

From the Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on Sri Lanka. The culture of impunity in Sri Lanka has been repeatedly pointed out as one of the main reasons for which religious extremism and hate speech thrive in the country, undermining the rule of law and human rights. Many complained […]

Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has said that the decision to co-sponsor Geneva Resolution 30/1 was taken by the yahapalana government under the leadership of then President Maithripala Sirisena. Samaraweera, in a statement issued on withdrawal from Resolution 30/1 and subsequent resolutions extending its mandate in the UN Human Rights Council, has said: “At a […]

Conclusions and recommendations: 86. Ten years after the end of the lengthy ethnic conflict, there has been no closure on a number of issues arising from that conflict and which the Government had pledged to address at the UN Human Rights Council. While there have been some elementary steps taken, lack of accountability and impunity […]

Making Joint Oral Statement at the ongoing 43rd session of the Human Rights Council today (28 February 2020.) eight International Human Rights organisations urged the Human Rights Council to hold Sri Lanka accountable to its obligations under international law. Given this week’s announcement that the new Government will not continue to engage with the clear framework […]

Image: Thierry Mathou in Colombo. A senior visiting French diplomat said yesterday said that despite Sri Lanka’s withdrawal from co-sponsorship of the UNHCR Resolution on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka, the resolution remains legally binding. “Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of the UNHCR resolution doesn’t mean the resolution has […]

Delivering the joint statement of the Core Group on Sri Lanka, International Ambassador for Human Rights of the United Kindom, Rita French told the ongoing 43rd session of the HRC that   “we are deeply disappointed and concerned that the government has changed its approach to the resolution. We remain profoundly committed to resolution 30/1 and […]

Sri Lanka today told the ongoing 43rd session of UNHRC that “with regard to the issues on missing persons, steps would be taken, after necessary investigations, to issue death certificates or certificates of absence, while also providing livelihood and other assistance to affected families.” The statement read by Sri LankaMinister of Foreign Relations makes no […]

Image:  ” Do not make Geneva promises disappear!” a placard at the “Missing Lovers Day” held by the Families of the Disappeared on 14.02.2020 in Colombo. Following Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw from its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this week, Amnesty International calls on the Council to establish an international […]

Speaking at HRC 43 today Human Rights High High Commissioner called on the Human Rights Council to remain alert to Sri Lanka’s situation in terms of prevention and to explore all possible avenues for advancing accountability. Her statement in full: I move to our update on Sri Lanka, HRC/43/19, assessing the progress made in implementing […]

Sri Lanka’s unilateral withdrawal from Resolution 30/1 is a clear rejection of human rights and accountability and displays total disregard for UN Member States Sri Lanka is unwilling & unable to hold state officials accountable for heinous violations of int’l human rights & humanitarian laws. Reason-it is the state itself that committed these heinous crimes”— […]

43RD SESSION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL – HIGH LEVEL SEGMENT STATEMENT BY HON. DINESH GUNAWARDENA, MINISTER OF FOREIGN RELATIONS OF SRI LANKA 26 FEBRUARY 2020 Media Releases , Minister’s Statements | Wed, 26 Feb 2020   43rd Session of the Human Rights Council – High Level Segment  Statement by Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Foreign Relations of Sri […]

Image: Sri Lanka FM Dinesh Gunawardana’s speech at HRC is based on statement made by him on 20 Feb 2020. In May 2009, following the end of the 30 year-long internal armed conflict with the defeat of the LTTE, a terrorist organization proscribed by 32 countries, the government led by the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, […]

For the third successive year, Families of the Disappeared (FoD) celebrated the “Missing Lovers Day” On 14th February in Colombo at the Vihara Maha Devi Park. Nearly 1000 attended from 9 districts in South and Batticoloa from East. They gathered at the park around noon and started the campaign meeting at 130 pm. President of the […]

Image: how countries vote on Sri Lanka resolution in 2012. Sri Lanka government has decided to inform UNHRC 43 session it’s commitment to achieve sustainable peace through an inclusive, domestically designed and executed reconciliation and accountability process, including through the appropriate adaptation of existing mechanisms, in line with the Government’s policy framework. This would comprise […]

Image: The best chance of a political settlement is while Tamil leader R. Sampanthan is alive and active. He is the only one with the moral authority to persuade the Tamils and the international community. After him, no one will have that stature. The ‘diplomatic drone strike’, the dramatic US strictures against the Army Commander, […]

Collective travel ban imposed on the Army Commander and his family by the USA. The United States of America has prohibited the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva or members of his family from entering that country. Even though we are now in the 21st Century, even members of his family […]

Image from berkeleyhighjacket.com. Issuing a statement National Peace Council of Sri Lanka says that “the appropriate path for Sri Lanka to take at the present time would be that of restorative justice where the state would acknowledge the human rights violations and crimes of the past that occurred on all sides and focus its priority […]

Summary: Pursuant to resolution 40/1 of the Human Rights Council, the present update assesses the progress made in implementing Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, particularly during 2019. While some progress has been made since 2015 in promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in line with […]

Colombo, February 18 (newsin.asia): On the grounds that the Sri Lankan government’s 2015 decision to co-sponsor the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution No: 30/1 on it was gravely flawed, the incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime has decided to withdraw the co-sponsorship. A top official in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office told newsin.asia that the decision to […]