Fate of Refugees and Asylum Seekers Hangs in the Balance
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) and UN country team in Sri Lanka must do their utmost to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers don’t end up being stateless or compelled…
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) and UN country team in Sri Lanka must do their utmost to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers don’t end up being stateless or compelled…
On December 14, 2023, the Supreme Court delivered a historic judgement, holding Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon personally responsible for torture. Before this judgement, there have been reports of…
On December 8, 2023, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) determined that the Navy had violated my right to freedom of movement by blocking me from traveling to the remote…
Nathasha Edirisooriya, a young female standup comedian, was arrested under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act no. 56 of 2007 on May 27, 2023 for comments during a…
In a report on Sri Lanka presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had stated, “lack of accountability at all levels remains…
On October 4 it is 5,000 days since disappearance of cartoonist, journalist and human rights defender Prageeth Ekneligoda. It is also nearly 5,000 days since I first met his wife Sandya Ekneligoda…
Many Sri Lankans engage in protests for a variety of grievances but protests by refugees and asylum seekers, one of the most marginalized communities in Sri Lanka, are rare. From my memory,…
There are many things that I remember today, April 21, 2023 in relation to Easter Sunday attacks four years ago. Images of damage to the churches and hotels is among the vivid images…
Panama is a remote village at the southern end of the eastern province in the Ampara district. The slogan often used in land struggles, land is life, is true for most people…
Among the reprisals faced by prominent leaders of the people’s uprising last year were arrests, detentions, travel bans and continuing court cases. Many leaders have multiple court cases pending against them despite…
On December 17, 2022, fishermen in northern Sri Lanka alerted the navy about a boat in distress adrift in the sea. On December 18, the navy rescued a group of 104 people…
Brief Many journalists have been killed and subjected to enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka, with the Jayewardene-Premadasa led UNP governments of 1977 to 1994 and Rajapaksa led UPFA government of 2006 to…
The 51st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is currently reviewing a new draft resolution on Sri Lanka. The core group invited the Sri Lankan government, other governments and…
“How many more years should we come to Geneva?” Sandya Ekneligoda, wife of disappeared journalist, at “informal” consultation on UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka, in Geneva, 16th Sept. 2022 Among the many international…
The Permanent People’s Tribunal in The Hague (Netherlands) has commenced hearings into murder of journalist and editor Lasantha Wickrematunge based on an indictment presented by a coalition of international press freedom organizations.…