Photo courtesy of Kumanan Kanapathippillai The Sri Lankan government’s failure to respect human rights, democracy and accountability have caused alarm at home and abroad and may prove still more costly in various…
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph The Sri Lankan Cabinet has agreed a ban on wearing burqas and other full face veils in public, which is almost certain to be approved by Parliament….
Photo courtesy of Kumanan Kanapathippillai The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) passed a resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka despite government opposition. This will allow ongoing…
Photo courtesy of Voice of America In the 1970s, an idealistic young medical student was seized during a US-backed military coup. She and her parents were tortured, as a result of which…
Photo courtesy of Amnesty International The Sri Lankan government, faced with grave international concerns about human rights, has made little effort to soften its confrontational approach at home or abroad. As a…
Photo courtesy of UNOPS Pressure on the government is growing in the run-up to a United Nations Human Rights Council session in February-March 2021. People in Sri Lanka, diaspora members, human rights…
Photo courtesy of Independent Diplomat The Sri Lankan government is likely to face an uncomfortable time at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in February-March 2021. Strong criticism can be…
Photo courtesy of Sri Lanka Guardian The tragic final months of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009 have received renewed attention lately, with a mention in ex-US president Barack Obama’s new book…
Concern is growing, at home and internationally, about increasing unwillingness among leaders – especially the president – to accept checks on the power exercised over the people of Sri Lanka. “I am…
Photo courtesy of European Parliamentary Research Service Blog The relationship between international bodies and national leaders can be tense. For instance, a United Nations official may produce a critical report on human…
Thirty-five years ago, human rights and democracy in Sri Lanka unravelled in a spectacular manner. Yet the background to these blatant abuses included an erosion of economic and social rights, with which…
Photo courtesy Club Madrid May 2014 marked the fifth anniversary of the brutal end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, amidst massive human rights violations by rival armies that killed thousands of civilians….
Image courtesy The Guardian On 10 May 2013, former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 80 years in prison. It was…
Cartoon by Albert Ashok As conflict raged, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights had stern words for those on both sides. “All violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law…
‘About 2000 years ago the Sinhala people started facing the dreadful enemy invasions and threats from diverse communities living in the Indian subcontinent,’ according to extremist politician Cyril Mathew and his associates…
