The Geneva Mess
The farcical arithmetic of the regime and its apparatchiks notwithstanding- that the abstentions should be counted as support for the regime and the majority of the world’s population is with it –…
Human Rights
Why Language Matters
Sri Lanka’s post-colonial language policy was neither fair not desirable. A largely non-English speaking population was governed by a small class of English-speaking elite. Weary of being excluded from governance and public…
Protecting Human Rights and Ensuring Justice is the Duty of the State
On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador was saying mass in his church when he was brutally gunned down in front of a horrified congregation. The Archbishop of…
A UNHRC Resolution for Protecting Sri Lankans
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 monitoring of a situation that…
UNHRC Resolution: A Ray of Hope for Sri Lanka
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” was adopted with 22 members of the council voting in favour of the resolution, 11 members…
Where Journalists Self-abduct and Ecocide is Green
To mark the Global Climate Action Day, the youth wing of the Wild Life and Nature Protection Society put up a massive mural decrying ecocide. The President’s environmental-loving soul was lacerated by…
Human Rights and “Foreign Interference” in Sri Lanka and Beyond
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 her father died. Her boyfriend, also…
Tackling Police Torture Through A New Law
A Gazette notification was published on March 5 announcing proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code. It creates the obligation for all magistrates in the country to visit police stations situated within…
Children as Propaganda: Let’s Protect Rather Than Penalise Child Soldiers
Kannan was ten when he joined the LTTE; he left when he was fourteen. His testimony on what he had experienced as a child soldier recruited against his will and forced into…
Changing the Human Rights Discourse
As the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) winds its way in Geneva, it is now almost certain that the country specific resolution on Sri Lanka, presented by the…
Facing a Murderous Military, Myanmar’s Peaceful Protesters Beg for International Help
I started the day by calling my colleagues and friends to see where and when we are going to gather. We need to check every morning if there are any unknown people…
Iranaitheevu: Challenges Three Years After Resettlement
Iranaitheevu has been in the news this month after residents steadfastly opposed a government decision to use the island to bury COVID-19 dead bodies. On April 23, 2018, Iranaitheevu residents re-claimed their…
UNHRC’s Ominous Warning
At its 46th sessions, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) will be debating the resolution on Sri Lanka that has many observations and recommendations. The recommendations made will pose a number of…
Past is Prologue for Sri Lanka’s Journalists
Photo courtesy of Centre for American Progress Terror tore through me when I heard that my friend and editor of the Nation newspaper Keith Noyahr had been abducted. It was May 2008; civil…
Justice for Easter Sunday Attacks, Navaly Church Bombing and Other Crimes
Last Sunday, February 28, during the holy mass our parish priest at St. Joseph’s Church, Ratmalana announced that all Catholics in Colombo Archdiocese are requested to wear black when going to church…