Batticaloa Bears Impact of Easter Sunday Attacks
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…
Human Rights
The Systemic Failure to Protect Sri Lanka’s Children
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 – An Inspiration and Challenge for Sri Lanka
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…
2021: The Year in Review
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…
Desmond Tutu: The Man Who Revived the Moral Universe
Archbishop Desmond Tutu who passed away this week will be counted among the great human beings who contributed to the political transformation of his own country and a person who revolutionised the…
An Unjust Justice System Needs to Be Changed
Two prisoners in Sri Lanka were recently released after being detained for many years, a harsh reminder of the ease with which people can be locked up on flimsy grounds. This has…
Families of Prisoners are Human Beings
In December 2008, Human Rights Office Kandy (HROK) had started to present human rights awards during the celebration of International Human Rights Day. I was among those who received an award and…
The Plight of Up Country Tamils in the North
Ever since they were brought to Sri Lanka from South India by the British colonists to work on the coffee, tea and rubber plantations Malayaha Tamils, more commonly known as Hill Country Tamils, Up…
Downgrading Human Rights Commission No Remedy for Victims
The recommendation to downgrade Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) from Grade A to Grade B by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,…
Sri Lanka at High Risk of Democratic Backsliding
Daily Mail Samuel P. Huntington, an eminent American political scientist, predicted in his work “Democracy’s Third Wave” that there could be reversions in democratic countries due to unfavourable conditions to sustain democracy,…
Proving Minister Keheliya Rambukwella Wrong About LGBT+ Rights
The Court of Appeal on December 8, 2021 ordered issuance of notices in a writ application by which several activists sought an order against Sri Lanka Police to prevent discrimination and vilification…
Time is Running Out to Stop Sri Lanka’s Slide into Mayhem
As the world marks Human Rights Day, two years of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency and over one year of his government have seen Sri Lanka slide rapidly down the slippery slope to…
The Perpetual Marginalization of People with Disabilities
Article 12 (1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka 1978 recognizes that people are entitled to equal protection of the law. Therefore, the state is under an obligation to ensure through law…
Public Awareness Key to Ending Gender Based Violence
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women I want to take a look at what progress has been made in raising our awareness as a community about the…
The Scourge of Intimate Partner Violence
Mala is a survivor of intimate partner violence. She kept it a secret until her husband passed away. After 25 years of daily abuse, she finally found the strength and courage to…
