While Sri Lanka grapples with an inevitable economic meltdown, the international community has not forgotten the country’s obligations to move towards a reconciled society through the process of transitional justice. One of…
The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) has been under discussion by various groups, commissions and governments for the last six decades. Although recommendations have been made for amendments to the Act,…
In 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the world and under its malevolent cloak, Sri Lanka’s environment, wildlife and wilderness had to face some of the greatest threats they have ever had. Not…
A new year usually brings hope and optimism but when we welcomed 2022, another worrisome issue had surfaced – the imminent threat of a food shortage. When the sudden fertilizer policy changes…
The newspaper headlines say it all – gas shortages, no money to import medicine, there will be no bread soon, staple vegetables are unaffordable, power cuts are starting and there is only…
“As an abstract political force, poverty is very useful; it scares and disciplines the working classes, keeps wages down…” Parenti, 1999 Visible urban poverty disrupts the gilded cityscape. It shatters the sanctity…
South China Morning Post The available foreign reserves of the country can be used to either repay foreign creditors or to finance imports of essential goods and services required by its citizens.…
Sri Lanka’s return to terror came on April 21, 2019 with the bombing of three hotels and three churches that killed 267 people and injured about 500. The trial of 25 men…
Every economy in the world, developed or developing, is a topic for discussion today. Some economies are being discussed for their sound management, good governance, high growth and overcoming crises while other…
Sri Lanka has a whopping 527 state-owned enterprises[1] (SOEs). The 55 SOEs classified as “strategically important” alone employ 10% of the public sector workforce[2] or about 1.9% of all workers. Such a…
Environmental conservation in Sri Lanka is as challenging as the economy of the country. Environmental degradation is fully supported and carried out with the blessings of corrupt politicians. This has been the…
Thirty years after ratifying the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNRC) in 1991, child protection is a national crisis in Sri Lanka. Over the past 16 months, 10…
Desmond Tutu was a black, South African, Christian male but in a world where colour, caste, class, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, sexuality and gender matter, he transcended all of that to be a…
2020 flowed into 2021 with a continued air of uncertainty due to the unrelenting spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The third wave saw cases and deaths rise exponentially, taking the country’s healthcare…
The organic fertilizer ship from China was one of the hotly debated topics in Sri Lanka. The quality of the fertilizer shipment, which resulted heated exchanges between the stakeholders, almost sparked a…
