Denying Justice While Dehumanizing a Community at Large
Photo courtesy of Shreen Saroor Thirty-one people died in the suicide attack on Zion evangelical church in Batticaloa on April 21, 2019, of which 14 were children. To date the church remains…
justice
Romanticising Resilience: Why the Struggle to Survive Should not Become a Way of Life
Resilient is a word frequently used by human rights activists and the development sector, to describe persons affected by war and violence. In Sri Lanka, the mothers of the disappeared are…
Fear in the East: What Lies Beneath
They joke of being followed by intelligence officers and questioned on who visited them and what they spoke about but underneath lies a real fear of being intimidated, harassed and threatened when…
Protecting Human Rights and Ensuring Justice is the Duty of the State
Today is the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El…
UNHRC Resolution: A Ray of Hope for Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy of Oneindia 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…
Tackling Police Torture Through A New Law
Photo courtesy of UCA News 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…
UNHRC’s Ominous Warning
Photo courtesy of Kumanan Kanapathippillai 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…
Past is Prologue for Sri Lanka’s Journalists
Photo courtesy of Centre for American Progress (A briefer version of this article was published in the UK Guardian on March 4.) In the thrall of an increasingly authoritarian presidency, Sri Lanka needs courageous…
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…
The Deception Continues
Photo courtesy of the world news platform On February 24, after the Interactive Dialogue on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) when the burial issue dominated discussion of Sri…
Braving Harsh Repression, Human Rights Defenders in the North Soldier On
The sentiments are unanimous. Under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency and government, Sri Lanka’s human rights defenders in the north are being threatened, harassed and intimidated on a scale never experienced before. Interviews…
Pressure on Government Mounts as Key UN Meeting Approaches
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…
A Statement on the PCoI on Political Victimisation
Image Courtesy of News First I am going to explain about the Commission on Political Victimisation established by President Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The Commission was set up to investigate acts of political…
Sowing the Seeds of Conflict: Statement by UN Officials and Independent Experts
Image courtesy of United Nations Former UN officials and independent experts call on the international community to take immediate steps towards justice and accountability to end Sri Lanka’s cycles of violence. The…
Richard
Image courtesy of Daily News Remembering Richard De Zoysa (03/18/1958 – 02/18/1990) Animals continue to crack in Sri Lanka, Richard. Lions don’t exist in the natural state, nor tigers roam through the…
