Truth, Reconciliation and Interim Secretariat
A recent UN Human Rights Council session raising grave concerns about the situation in Sri Lanka, including a report by High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, was the focus of a…
Human Rights
Time for Sri Lanka to Chart a New Course on Human Rights
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged Sri Lanka to break from the past and chart a new course. Addressing the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council…
Grave Implications of Gun Violence
Gun violence is a prevalent issue that has challenged many countries around the world including Sri Lanka. Guns, a weapon mainly used by armed forces to maintain the peace and security of…
Hema Shironi’s Embroidery Depicts Impact of Conflict
Hema Shironi’s solo exhibition at the Saskia Fernando Gallery delves into the complex and often painful histories of colonization, civil war, displacement and migration, all of which are intricately woven into the…
The Search for the Disappeared: Struggle, Recovery, Resolve
As news of a mass grave breaks on television in a household in the North, its residents, a family of the disappeared, try to find ways of coping with this information. A…
The Need for Humanitarianism is Greater Than Ever
Former High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, said there were no humanitarian solutions to humanitarian problems because what they required were political solutions. When states and governments fail their citizens, endangering their…
The Erasure of the Palestinian
During the final stages of the 30 year war in Sri Lanka there was a perception held by the West and its allies, and reiterated like a mantra ever since, that it…
Culture of Impunity Enables Grave Human Rights Violations to Continue Unchecked
Despite ongoing pressure from the international community, reforms to advance human rights and reconciliation, especially in institutional and security sectors, have not occurred. On the contrary, there are renewed threats to fundamental…
Criminalizing Sexual Harassment: Are We Doing Enough?
The law criminalizing sexual harassment could change very soon. A bill, which proposes to amend S. 345 of the Penal Code, has been gazetted. This is a welcome development. Yet amendments to…
A New Low In Bro Behaviour
Look up “schoolgirl” and “rape” and “Sri Lanka”. There are many stories which are posted by Google Search with those taglines. We have to refine the search for the most recent atrocity…
Long Standing and Emerging Conflicts Over Contested Religious Sites
The root causes of Sri Lanka’s 26 year civil war have yet to be addressed resulting in many consequences including exacerbating the issue of land conflicts and contestation related to places of…
Culture vs. Human Rights: Decriminalisation of Same-Sex Relationships in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s attempts to build an inclusive society through legislative moves that could result in greater equality for the minority LGBTIQ community have been met with opposition by the country’s religious leaders….
Seventy Five Years of the Geneva Conventions
In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, Groundviews conducted an in depth interview with Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, a distinguished human rights lawyer and former UN Under-Secretary-General. Dr. Coomaraswamy, renowned…
Celebrating the Adivasi of Sri Lanka
The Adivasi, historically known as the Veddas, are considered the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. They have lived on the island for millennia, maintaining a distinct ethnic identity and a way of…
Leaving No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking
The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is observed on July 30 to raise awareness about human trafficking and to promote the rights of trafficking victims. The day was first observed in…