The Need to Heal a Fractured Nation
Fifteen years after the end of the civil war, Sri Lankan society remains as polarised as ever. While many international and national NGOs work tirelessly at the ground level to bring different…
Human Rights
Still Seeking Accountability 15 Years Later
Failure to hold the powerful accountable for misusing their power and inflicting damage on other people has harmed large numbers of Sri Lankans. This has been pointed out across the country and…
The 1998 Bharathipuram Killings and Accountability for War Time Atrocities
Killings of civilians and other atrocities have been widespread during three decades of war, mostly in the North an East. Sri Lankan armed forces, police and the LTTE appear to be responsible…
Prosecuting Crimes Requires a System Change
In the context of Sri Lanka, a crucial question arises: does the country possess the capability to effectively prosecute crimes? This question can be raised for numerous reasons. However, even before delving…
Government Proposes a Law to Control NGO Activity
On January 30, 2024 the Director General of the National Secretariat for Non-Government Organizations shared with a collective of civil society organizations a draft law to repeal and replace the Voluntary Social…
Disappearances, Torture and Sexual Violence Continue After War’s End
Although Sri Lanka’s civil war ended 15 years ago, members of the Tamil community are still being disappeared and subjected to torture and sexual violence, according to a new report by the…
Women’s Attire Stokes Religious Tension in Eastern Sri Lanka
In times of calamity women are affected disproportionately, and Sri Lanka’s ethnic and religious conflicts are no exception to the rule. In the post-war context, Tamil women were left to look for…
The Perilous State of Freedom of Expression
World Press Freedom Day is observed on May 3 to remind the world that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. Many journalists have died or are…
US Campus Eruptions and Corporate Military Capitalism
“(Herbert Marcuse) In the 1960s universities and colleges in US became the epicentre of anti-war protests against indiscriminate US bombing and destruction in Vietnam and Cambodia and those protests soon spread to…
Get Out My Vote
How can you expect my vote when you allow Haitians arrived at our border to be picked up and deported back to the island from which they fled, where rape, murder,…
Gaza: The Cruelty and Pain of Numbers
If a modern military combat involves a lot of high explosive such as large bombs and shells, the physical devastation of the area is profound. And the bigger the shell or bomb…
Five Years On: Still Seeking Justice for Easter Sunday Bombings
The churches have been restored for congregations to worship and the luxury hotels have been repaired for the elite to dine in but the families of victims are still seeking justice for…
On Consent – Romeo and Juliet and the Draft Bill
Newscutter What is consent? When it comes to sexual relations, the concept of consent is that it must be between two consenting adults. Currently, the age of consent for girls in Sri…
Muslims Returning to Jaffna Face Many Challenges to Exist
In October 1990 some 75,000 to 100,000 Muslims in the Northern Province, about five percent of the province’s total population, were forcibly expelled from their homeland by the LTTE. In some places,…
Protecting Protesters is the Duty of the State
During 30 protests between March 2022 and June 2023, Sri Lanka’s law enforcement personnel did not adhere to international law and standards, using excessive force against peaceful protesters in at least 17…